Terror Management: How Our Worldviews Help Us Deny Death - Luke Galen (Grand Rapids) May 26, 2010

May 26, 2010, 7:00pm–8:30pm
Women's City Club, 254 E. Fulton St., Grand Rapids, MI, View Map

Presented by Luke Galen, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Grand Valley State University
Description

Forty years ago Ernest Becker theorized in his "Denial of Death" that our culture and our cherished worldviews serve the purpose of maintaining our self-esteem and sense of meaning in the face of inevitable death and insignificance. More recently a body of work in the social sciences called "Terror Management Theory" has lent empirical evidence to these provocative ideas. The unconscious anxiety about our own mortality has been linked to group conflict, aggression against those who challenge our worldview, denial of our animal nature including the theory of evolution, and the unreasonable belief that the world is predictable and just.

The implications of these results are relevant to politics, inter-religious conflicts, nationalism, fundamentalism, and many other forms of vehement worldview defense. Join us to find out more about this intriguing topic.
About the Speaker

Luke Galen is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at Grand Valley State University. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Wayne State University. His main area of research and teaching focuses on the psychology of religion. He has three current areas of research. The first involves the social cognition of religious fundamentalism. He is also currently studying religion and the Just World Belief. Finally, he studies non religious groups and the process of apostasy. He teaches classes on: the Psychology of Religion, Controversial Issues in Psychology, and Human Sexuality. He is faculty advisor to the GVSU Center for Inquiry campus group and is a member of the Reasonable Doubts podcast and radio show.
Additional Details

Meetings are open to the Public

After the meeting, join us at Vitale's Restaurant, 834 Leonard NE, Grand Rapids, MI to socialize. View Map

Learn about Parking, Accessibility, Child Care and more.

Cost: $6.00 general admission. Free for Friends of the Center.

Contact: Jennifer Beahan, michigan@centerforinquiry.net, 616-698-2342

Official Website: http://www.cfimichigan.org/events/event/w-mtg-052610/