Person
Every book Sheldon Solomon recommended on podcasts
Sheldon Solomon is an experimental social psychologist known for his extensive work on terror management theory, exploring how the fear of death profoundly influences human behavior, culture, politics, and religion. As evident from his appearances on podcasts such as Modern Wisdom and the Lex Fridman Podcast, Solomon approaches complex existential questions with intellectual depth, humor, and historical context. His discussions frequently center on the foundational ideas that explain why humans construct elaborate cultural worldviews to buffer against their own mortality. To help listeners dive deeper into these profound concepts, Solomon routinely recommends key texts that shaped his own thinking. Most notably, he frequently champions the works of cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker, specifically highlighting The Denial of Death, The Birth and Death of Meaning, and Escape from Evil as essential, albeit challenging, reading for anyone seeking to understand human motivation and anxiety. In addition to Becker's sociological and psychological treatises, Solomon has expressed a deep admiration for literature that captures the human condition, recommending Carson McCullers's 1953 novel Clock Without Hands. Through these literary recommendations, Solomon underscores the intricate connections between psychological theory, existential philosophy, and great storytelling.
Books recommended by Sheldon Solomon
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Birth and Death of Meaning
Birth and Death of Meaning by Ernest Becker is an exploration of human psychology and culture framed through an evolutionary and existential perspective.
Recommended“i would say uh that ernest becker's the denial of death or another book called the birth and death of meaning are where we got our ideas from uh but a lot of folks uh find that to be difficult”
Where to get it
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The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning psychological study that posits that human civilization, culture, and individual ambition are ultimately driven by an underlying, often unconscious fear of mortality.
Discussed“cultural anthropologist ernest becker who in the 1970s uh won a pulitzer prize for a book called the denial of death”
Where to get it
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escape from evil
Escape from Evil by Ernest Becker is a profound anthropological and psychological work examining how human civilization, culture, and societal structures are largely driven by a collective, unconscious terror of death.
Discussed“so that's point number one i point number two in a book called escape from evil which is after the denial of death uh becker says here's the other problem”
Where to get it
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Consciousness Regained
Consciousness Regained by Nicholas Humphrey is an exploration of the evolutionary origins of human consciousness, proposing that it developed primarily to navigate complex social environments.
Discussed“nicholas humphrey who's a british guy he wrote a book called consciousness regained i think in the 1980s and um i favor his view which is that consciousness may have evolved”
Where to get it
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Second Treatise of Government
Second Treatise of Government by John Locke is a foundational political philosophy text from 1690 that outlines classical liberal ideas regarding the state of nature, property rights, and the origins of civil government.
Discussed“in fact uh who's it john locke in his second treatise on government that was at 1690 he said look anything that really matters anything that is real there's an upper limit to how much you can want”
Where to get it
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The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is a landmark popular science book that presents a gene-centric view of evolution and introduced the concept of the meme.
Discussed“and even folks uh like um oh selfish gene richard dawkins he writes in the 1970s that he finds it inconceivable that consciousness uh has no functional value”
Where to get it
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Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt is a foundational historical and political analysis examining the origins, mechanisms, and societal conditions that give rise to authoritarian regimes and totalitarian control.
Discussed“because it is well known a woman i like hannah arendt in a book called the origin of totalitarianism uh after written in the 1950s she just points out that um you know it's pretty much the same playbook”
Where to get it
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Clock Without Hands
Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers is a 1953 novel that explores complex social and racial tensions in a small Southern town during the mid-twentieth century.
Recommended“i'm enamored with a novel by a woman named carson mccullers written in 1953 called clock without hands”
Where to get it
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An Arabic Zoological Dictionary
Discussed“and so there's a guy named amin malouf a lebanese guy who writes in french who in the 1990s i think wrote a book called in the name of identity violence and the need to belong”
Where to get it
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Becoming Human
Discussed“there's a book by a famous guy he's a primatologist michael tomasello at the max planck institute in germany it's called becoming human”
Where to get it
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Being and Time
Being and Time by Martin Heidegger is a monumental and notoriously dense work of twentieth-century philosophy that investigates the fundamental nature of human existence, or Dasein, through the lens of time and mortality.
Discussed“and it took me 40 years to read being in time”
Where to get it
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Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost In the Machine
Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost In the Machine is an influential work of popular science and philosophy by Stephen Pinker that explores human nature and the historical trajectory of violence.
Discussed“that would basically be like stephen pinker's blank slate”
Where to get it
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Charter Schools and Their Enemies
Charter Schools and Their Enemies by Thomas Sowell is a non-fiction book examining the history, successes, and political opposition surrounding the charter school movement in American education.
Discussed“thomas soul uh wrote a book about uh recent book on um charter schools”
Where to get it
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Collapse
Collapse is a popular science book by Jared Diamond that examines how historical societies have met their demises through environmental mismanagement and ecological degradation.
Discussed“so i'm with jared diamond you know in the book collapse where he points out studying sthe collapse of major civilizations that it often happens right after things appear to never have been better”
Where to get it
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Darwin's Cathedral
Discussed“so it's david sloane wilson wrote a book called darwin's cathedral and he said religion has nothing to do with death”
Where to get it
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Deer Disassembly
Discussed“it's eric fromm uh in a book called escape from freedom he's like look you”
Where to get it
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Destroying the World to Save It
Discussed“robert j lifton a psycho historian who i'm fond of in a book called destroying the world to save it he's like wow we may be the first form of life to be responsible for our own extinction”
Where to get it
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Escape from Freedom
Discussed“therefore it is claimed sit's eric fromm sin a book called escape from freedom he's like look you”
Where to get it
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Existence and being
Discussed“a year or two ago i i started reading smartin heidegger si'm reading being in time”
Where to get it
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Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce is a notoriously experimental and linguistically complex novel famous for its stream-of-consciousness style and dream-like structure.
Discussed“i i even uh i i guess read parts of finnegan's wake no way”
Where to get it
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Heartbreak House
Discussed“and a heartbreak house one of my favorite plays he says uh when the angel of death sounds his trumpet the pretenses of civilization are blown from men's heads into the mud”
Where to get it
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How the Mind Works
How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker is a comprehensive exploration of evolutionary psychology that investigates how the human brain evolved, how it processes information, and how these mechanisms shape modern human behavior.
Discussed“that sstephen pinker i do agree with his claim sand i think how the mind works that it is the key question for the psychological sciences”
Where to get it
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In the Name of Identity
Discussed“and so there's a guy named amin malouf a lebanese guy who writes in french who in the 1990s i think wrote a book called in the name of identity violence and the need to belong”
Where to get it
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Le capital au XXIe siècle
Le capital au XXIe siècle by Thomas Piketty is a groundbreaking economic treatise that analyzes centuries of tax and income data to demonstrate how unchecked wealth accumulation exacerbates global inequality.
Discussed“you know the thomas pickerty guy who writes about capital and just makes the point that return on investment will always be greater than wages”
Where to get it
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Moby Dick
Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a classic American novel that follows Captain Ahab's obsessive, self-destructive quest to hunt down the white sperm whale that maimed him.
Discussed“so and and melville does the same thing in moby dick where he he thinks about will there ever come a time where we run out of whales”
Where to get it
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The concept of time
Discussed“a year or two ago i i started reading smartin heidegger si'm reading being in time”
Where to get it
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The Dead
The Dead by James Joyce is the famous closing novella of his 1914 collection Dubliners, widely celebrated as a masterpiece of modernist fiction and short story craftsmanship.
Discussed“i i like his uh short stories the dead”
Where to get it
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The Decline of the West
Oswald Spengler's The Decline of the West is a massive historical and philosophical work that posits civilizations operate in cyclical patterns akin to biological organisms, rising and eventually falling.
Discussed“and then there's another lunatic oswald spangler who wrote a book called decline of the west”
Where to get it
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The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes is a profound exploration of human psychology proposing that ancient humans operated with a divided brain structure where divine voices were heard rather than internal monologue.
Discussed“uh julian james the origin of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind and so to answer your question and that's one of my favorite books”
Where to get it
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The Origins of Totalitarianism
The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt is a foundational political science study exploring the historical convergence of anti-Semitism, imperialism, and mass society that gave rise to twentieth-century totalitarian regimes.
Discussed“hannah arendt in a book called the origin of totalitarianism after written in the 1950s she just points out that um you know it's pretty much the same playbook”
Where to get it
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THE PLAGUE
THE PLAGUE by Albert Camus is an existentialist novel chronicling a devastating epidemic in an Algerian city and exploring human solidarity, suffering, and the absurdity of existence.
Discussed“i will tell you the last line of the plague we learn in times of pestilence that there's more to admire in men than to despise”
Where to get it
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The Poetical Works of Alexander Smith
Discussed“what garnered my attention when i was a young punk was just a single line in an essay by a scottish guy it was alexander smith in in a book called dreamthwarp i think it's written in the 1860s”
Where to get it
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The Power Elite
The Power Elite by C.
Discussed“a guy named c wright mills in a book called the power elite written in the 1950s he made the same point”
Where to get it
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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L.
Discussed“and how i mentioned to you off camera that i've been reading uh the the rise and fall of the third reich”
Where to get it
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The True Believer
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer is a classic socio-psychological study examining the underlying causes of mass movements, fanaticism, and the personal motivations that drive individuals to join fanatical causes.
Discussed“another guy i like a lot eric hoffer wrote a book called the true believer and what all these kind of leaders do”
Where to get it
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The True Believer:Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer is a classic socio-psychological study examining the psychological motivations, fanaticism, and appeal underlying mass social and political movements.
Discussed“Another guy i like a lot eric hoffer wrote a book called the true believer and what all these kind of leaders do”
Where to get it
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Ulysses
Ulysses by James Joyce is a monumental modernist novel chronicling a single day in the life of Leopold Bloom in Dublin, celebrated for its stylistic experimentation and intricate parallels to Homer's Odyssey.
Discussed“look it took me 40 years to read ulysses i could not get past the first five pages”
Where to get it
Books Sheldon Solomon wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does The Fear Of Death Drive Everything We Do? - Sheldon Solomon - #240 | Modern Wisdom | 2020-11-02 | 20 |
| #117 – Sheldon Solomon: Death and Meaning | Lex Fridman Podcast | 2020-08-20 | 45 |
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“we wrote a book called the worm at the core on the role of death in life and it was our desire uh to uh present these ideas in a conversational manner”
“jordan was working on his maps of meaning and we were publishing our work”
“he wrote a book called winesburg ohio”
“and evidently sthoreau sold like 75 copies of walden”
“it's the great gatsby”