The following unexpected conclusions come from an Internet Web page on the Sociology of Death and Dying, written by Michael Kearl.
Huntington and Metcalf observed in Celebrations of Death, life becomes transparent against the background of death". In a way analogous to the experimental method of subatomic physicists, bombarding and shattering the nuclei of atoms in order to reveal their constituent parts and processes, death similarly reveals the most central social processes and cultural values. Death is a catalyst that, when put into contact with any cultural order, precipitates out the central beliefs and concerns of a people.
Abram Rosenblatt et al found, for example, that when reminded of their mortality, people react more harshly toward moral transgressors and become more favourably disposed toward those who uphold their values. In one experiment, 22 municipal judges were given a battery of psychological tests. In the experimental group, 11 judges were told to write about their own death, including what happens physically and what emotions are evoked when thinking about it. When asked to set bond for a prostitute on the basis of a case brief, those who had thought about their death set an average bond of $455, while the average in the control group was $50. The authors concluded that when awareness of death is increased, in-group solidarity is intensified, out-groups become more despised, and prejudice and religious extremism escalate.
Another surprising titbit from Kearl's death-related Web pages.
Between 1976 and 1993, more Americans were murdered in their native land than died on the battlefields of World War II.
Michael C. Kearl, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Trinity University, 715 Stadium Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78212, USA.
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