The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life

by Sheldon Solomon

IN ADDITION TO TRYING to convince others to adopt our own customs and beliefs, we humans also tend to “tame” the views we find threatening by incorporating attractive aspects of them into our own cultural worldview. We refer to this as “cultural accommodation” because people are altering their own worldview to include something appealing from another worldview, but in a manner that does not undermine their most cherished beliefs and values. Consider the counterculture movement in the United States in the 1960s, when young people began to “tune in, turn on, drop out.” Sparked by support for the civil rights movement and opposition to the escalating war in Vietnam, the “hippies” railed against the militaryindustrial complex and the greed, materialism, sexism, racism, and sexual repression that went with it. There was a call to be more respectful of other cultures, minorities, women, and the environment, and to move toward a simpler and more peaceful lifestyle. Young people also rejected the clean-cut “Ozzie and Harriet” look of their parents and older siblings. They donned blue jeans to show their sympathy for Woody Guthrie’s workingman. They turned away from meat and started eating granola and other natural health foods. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll were the cultural linchpins of their lives. At the time, these affectations were viewed as a serious threat to traditional American values, earning the scorn of upstanding citizens everywhere. “A hippie is someone who looks lik...