摘要：In 1973, Ernest Becker, a cultural anthropologist cross-trained in philosophy, sociology, andpsychiatry, invoked consciousness of self and the inevitability of death as the primary sources of humananxiety and repression. He proposed that the psychological basis of cooperation, competition, and emotionaland mental health is a tendency to hold tightly to anxiety-buffering cultural world views or "immortalityprojects" that serve as the basis for self-esteem and meaning. Although he focused mainly on social andpolitical outcomes like war, torture, and genocide, he was increasingly aware that materialism, denial ofnature, and immortality-striving efforts to control, rather than sanctify, the natural world were problemswhose severity was increasing. In this paper I review Becker's ideas and suggest ways in which theyilluminate human response to global climate change. Because immortality projects range from belief intechnology and materialism to reverence for nature or belief in a celestial god, they act both as barriers toand facilitators of sustainable practices. I propose that Becker's cross-disciplinary "science of man," andthe predictions it generates for proximate-level determinants of social behavior, add significantly to ourunderstanding of and potential for managing the people paradox, i.e., that the very things that bring ussymbolic immortality often conflict with our prospects for survival. Analysis of immortality projects asone of the proximate barriers to addressing climate change is both cautionary and hopeful, providing insightsthat should be included in the cross-disciplinary quest to uncover new pathways toward rational, socialchange.
关键词：environmental behavior; birds; icons; social psychology; terror management theory;conservation; immortality projects
