Journal articles on the topic 'Coetzee, J M , 1940- Philosophy'

RESUMO: Com um estilo sóbrio e minimalista, a prosa literária de J. M. Coetzee é um espaço criativo onde diferentes identidades literárias são constantemente baralhadas e uma perigosa sobreposição de alter-egos é sistematicamente ensaiada. Pensando sobre todas essas nuances, filósofos contemporâneos a trabalhar sobre a obra do escritor sul-africano têm descrito o seu trabalho como "realista-modernista'. Neste artigo, discuto uma obra específica de Coetzee (Diário de um Mau Ano) - focando sobretudo a estranha técnica gráfica da tripartição da página em três vozes literárias e a respectiva relação com a ideia de "pensamento ético de substituição" -, confrontando-a com a sua obra como um todo. Num segundo momento, apresento um modelo filosófico para explicar o seu "realismo modernista" e termino traçando o impacto desse modelo filosófico sobre a própria filosofia que o apresenta.

Abstract The first two books of J. M. Coetzee's recent trilogy, The Childhood of Jesus (2013) and The Schooldays of Jesus (2016), are extremely strange. Just when “the Australian fiction,” following the works set in South Africa and various international locations, was thought to be the last phase of Coetzee's career, the Nobel laureate changed tack. The Jesus books challenge readers and critics with their sparse tone, lengthy philosophical dialogues, and allegorical obscurity. Their difficulty seems to shed little light on some of the most intriguing questions about Coetzee's writing: namely, its form and its interaction with allegory. Beginning with a reappraisal of a classic work of Coetzee studies, this essay then lays out a theory about the connection between reading and writing allegory within traditions of what constitutes a “novel.” In the second section, examples from Coetzee's earlier fiction are analyzed, with focus on In the Heart of the Country (1977) and Boyhood (1997). Parental roles are found to be vital in the connections between the novel form and allegory. The third section applies these analyses to Childhood and Schooldays. Focus on the books’ references to Plato and Don Quixote helps scrutinize their philosophy and reach the thesis of this essay: that with these books, Coetzee experiments with a form that goes beyond the novel.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama grožio samprata XX a. pirmosios pusės Lietuvos estetikoje. Teigiama, kad šiuo laikotarpiu nuodugniausiai į grožio problematiką gilinosi A. Jakštas, S. Šalkauskis, A. Viskantas ir J. Grinius. Visų keturių autorių grožio sampratų šaknys siekia Platono ir Aristotelio filosofijas, tačiau tiesioginės įtakos jiems daugiausia turėjo Tomo Akviniečio ir V. Solovjovo koncepcijos. Lietuvių idealistinės estetikos atstovai grožio klausimą nagrinėjo iš objektyvistinių pozicijų, tikrąjį grožį laikė nepriklausomai nuo subjekto egzistuojančiu fenomenu. Aiškindami grožio kilmę jį siejo su idealaus prado įsigalėjimu materialiame objekte, grožis laikytas neistorišku fenomenu. S. Šalkauskiui idealusis pradas, lemiąs objekto grožį, yra susijęs su daikto esme, pirmavaizdžiu. Jis akcentavo gamtos grožį. Teigė, kad grožis gali būti suvoktas tik subjekto sąmonei nusistačius atitinkamu būdu. A. Viskantas labiau domėjosi meno grožiu, siekė subjektyvinti grožio sampratą. Grožio charakteristikomis laikė tobulumą, išbaigtumą, harmoniją, proporcijas, ryškumą. J. Grinius grožį laikė subjekto išgyvenimu, estetiniu gėrėjimusi.

1985 m. gruodžio 24 d. Filosofijos, sociologijos ir teisės institute V. Pruskus apgynė filosofijos mokslų kandidato disertaciją „Modernistinės tendencijos katalikybės socialinėje filosofijoje buržuazinėje Lietuvoje (1918–1940)“. Moksliniai vadovai – prof. J. Barzdaitis ir prof. I. Zaksas, oficialieji oponentai: prof. A. Griška ir doc. V. Pikutis. Tą pačią dieną E. Kriščiūnas apgynė filosofijos mokslų kandidato disertaciją „Marksistinė visuomenės raidos teorija Lietuvoje 1917–1940 m.“. Mokslinis vadovas – prof. R. Plečkaitis, oficialieji oponentai: dr. A. Gaidys ir doc. A. Darginavičienė.

1983 m. lapkričio 3 d. Maskvoje Visuomenės mokslų akademijoje D. Stančienė apgynė filosofijos mokslų kandidato disertaciją „Proto ir religinio tikėjimo santykio problema neotomizme (remiantis 1918–1940 m. buržuazinės Lietuvos medžiaga)“. Mokslinis disertacijos vadovas – doc. B. Kuzmickas, oficialieji oponentai: prof. J. Babosovas ir doc. A. Gaidys; kolektyvinis recenzentas – Maskvos valstybinio M. Lomonosovo universiteto Filosofijos fakulteto Ateizmo istorijos ir teorijos katedra.

1986 m. balandžio 8 d. Lietuvos MA Filosofijos, sociologijos ir teisės institute Pillė Veljataga apgynė filosofijos kandidato disertaciją „Meno santykio su tikrove problema lietuvių estetikoje (1900–1940 m.)“. Moksliniai vadovai – prof. J. Barzdaitis ir doc. G. Vaitkūnas, oficialieji oponentai: prof. J. Mureika ir doc. V. Salejevas. 1985 m. gegužės 31 d. J. Nickutė apgynė filosofijos kandidato disertaciją „Šiuolaikinės taikomosios-dekoratyvinės dailės estetinės problemos (remiantis Lietuvos TSR taikomąja-dekoratyvine daile)“. Mokslinis vadovas – prof. J. Jakovlevas, oficialieji oponentai: prof. S. Rapoportas ir prof. A. Gaižutis.

Religijotyros sekcijoje perskaityta 11 pranešimų: „Krikščionybės kritikos pirmtakai Lietuvoje“ (J. Barzdaitis), „Marksistinis ateizmas Lietuvoje 1917–1940 m.“ (P. Mikuckas), „Marksistinės JAV lietuvių ateizmo srovės susidarymo klausimas“ (J. Sakalauskas). J. Mačiulis kalbėjo apie katalikybės evoliucijos specifiką socializmo sąlygomis, religiją scholastikos kontekste nagrinėjo J. Minkevičius, techninį pasaulėvaizdį ir jo religinį interpretavimą – M. Šubas, nemirtingumo problemą – I. Zaksas. G. Jatkonio pranešimas buvo skirtas metodologinėms ateizmo istorijos problemoms. Diskusijose daugiausiai buvo liečiama nemirtingumo problema, taip pat pabrėžiama, kad sekcijos darbas davė naudos tolesnei mokslinei ateizmo raidai respublikoje.

1968 m. lapkričio 14–16 d. Šiaulių K. Preikšo pedagoginio instituto dvidešimtmečio proga įvykusioje konferencijoje pranešimus skaitė ir visuomenės mokslų atstovai, tarp jų ir filosofai. B. Genzelis perskaitė pranešimą „Lietuvos kultūrinio palikimo vertinimo kriterijaus klausimu“, A. Gaigalaitė – „Istorijos mokslo Lietuvoje istoriografijos klausimu“, E. Gendrolis – „V. Leninas apie metodologinius materialistinės pasaulėžiūros formavimosi pagrindus“, J. Ažubalis – „Religinės pažiūros į moterį kritika Lietuvos ateistinėje 1940–1965 m. literatūroje“.

1984 m. lapkričio 14 d. Filosofijos, sociologijos ir teisės institute VISI Filosofijos katedros vedėjas docentas J. Mureika apgynė filosofijos mokslų daktaro disertaciją „Marksistinės-lenininės estetikos tapsmas Lietuvoje (iki 1940 metų)“. Oficialieji oponentai: profesoriai M. Ovsianikovas, B. Genzelis, V. Šteinbergas. Ši disertacija yra pirmasis mėginimas tirti marksistinės-lenininės estetikos tapsmą Lietuvoje, kaip vientisą procesą, atskleisti jo dėsningą pobūdį ir savybes. Tyrimo objektas yra reikšmingas Lietuvos estetinės minties raidos etapas.

1969 m. lapkričio 25 d. J. Ažubalis apgynė filosofijos mokslų kandidato disertaciją „Religijos kilmės ir socialinio vaidmens problema (iš Lietuvos ateistinės minties istorijos 1940–1965 m.)“. Oficialieji oponentai: prof. I. Zaksas ir doc. B. Kuzmickas. Disertacijoje nagrinėjami minėto laikotarpio ateistų darbai. Teigiama, kad šio laikotarpio pradžios literatūroje buvo neskiriamos klasinės ir socialinės religijos šaknys. Autorius kritikuoja poziciją, kad socializme religiją palaiko tik subjektyvios priežastys, nes objektyvių jau nebeliko. Autorius daro išvadą, kad vien tik ateistine propaganda religinių įsitikinimų įveikti neįmanoma, tarybinius žmones reikia įtraukti į aktyvų komunistinės visuomenės kūrimą.

1986 m. gruodžio 8 d. Lietuvos MA Filosofijos, sociologijos ir teisės institute mokslinis bendradarbis Jonas Balčius apgynė filosofijos kandidato disertaciją „P. Dovydaičio filosofinės ir visuomeninės pažiūros (1910–1940)“. Mokslinis vadovas – prof. R. Plečkaitis, oficialieji oponentai: prof. J. Minkevičius ir doc. V. Pikutis. Disertacijoje kritiškai analizuojamos ir iš marksistinės metodologijos pozicijų vertinamos P. Dovydaičio pažiūros mokslinio pasaulio pažinimo specifikos ir patikimumo klausimais, pasaulėžiūrinės visuomeninio pobūdžio problemos, pastangos atgaivinti teleologizmą gamtos mokslų disciplinose.

This paper concerns the nature of the archive and the kinds of statements that might be drawn from our interaction with the archive. In the first part, Karl Popper's concept of ‘falsifiability’ is examined, particularly insofar as it features in Nabokov criticism (via Brian Boyd) and in Beckett studies (through Matthew Feldman). Falsifiability brings with it the authority of science, which Feldman uses to challenge certain kinds of Beckett-based orthodoxies – such things as the unquestioned centrality of Descartes to the work, and the (perceived) imprecision of theory-driven readings. One of Feldman's key claims, with regard to the archives of Beckett studies, is that Beckett only read and studied philosophy between 1928–1938. But although his argument begins from empirical evidence, it further develops interpretations based on a reading of this evidence. These interpretations thus involve presuppositions with regard to how Beckett might have worked with or attacked ideas otherwise developed by philosophers. In the second part, a counter-approach to the use of the archive is examined, via the readings that J. M. Coetzee developed in writing his 1969 dissertation, The English Fiction of Samuel Beckett: An Essay in Stylistic Analysis. This example demonstrates both the value and limits of a quantifiable scientific approach to an analysis of the archives (in particular, to Coetzee's use of the methods of stylostatistics) as well as exemplifying how an approach to the archives might generate other benefits (in this case related to Coetzee's own fiction and its extension into the archival space). That is, Coetzee offers different answers to the question of how one might approach the archive and what might thereby be achieved. These answers gave him unquantifiable insights into the writing process and left him with questions he could pursue in his own writings.

Abstract J. M. Coetzee's trilogy of novels with Jesus in their titles, published between 2013 and 2019, has bewildered many reviewers. This essay review proposes that that bewilderment stems from a misconception of the novels’ allegorical dimension and of the possible meanings evoked by their titles. The trilogy is the consummation of Coetzee's meditations on analogy and linguistic skepticism; on the ontological status of fictions; on the eschatological impulsion of writing; and on memory's capacity for true recognitions that have no empirical basis. The trilogy presents us with a world that affirms a purely immanent life. Coetzee tests this world dialogically by subjecting its self-identical “here” to the nonidentical repetitions of analogical thought, through which an “elsewhere” impinges on the “here.” The trilogy's deepest questions turn on the metaphysical scope of this “elsewhere”: that is, on whether the vertiginous depths of analogy participate in an underlying substrate of meaning, recognizable as “the Word of God.”

J. Lennart Berggren and Alexander Jones, Ptolemy's Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters. By Karin Tybjerg 194Natalia Lozovsky, ‘The Earth is Our Book’: Geographical Knowledge in the Latin West ca. 400–1000. By Evelyn Edson 196David Cantor (ed.), Reinventing Hippocrates. By Daniel Brownstein 197Peter Dear, Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and Its Ambitions, 1500–1700. By John Henry 199Paolo Rossi, Logic and the Art of Memory: The Quest for a Universal Language. By John Henry 200Marie Boas Hall, Henry Oldenburg: Shaping the Royal Society. By Christoph Lüthy 201Richard L. Hills, James Watt, Volume 1: His Time in Scotland, 1736–1774. By David Philip Miller 203René Sigrist (ed.), H.-B. de Saussure (1740–1799): Un Regard sur la terre, Albert V. Carozzi and John K. Newman (eds.), Lectures on Physical Geography given in 1775 by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure at the Academy of Geneva/Cours de géographie physique donné en 1775 par Horace-Bénédict de Saussure à l'Académie de Genève and Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Voyages dans les Alpes: Augmentés des Voyages en Valais, au Mont Cervin et autour du Mont Rose. By Martin Rudwick 206Anke te Heesen, The World in a Box: The Story of an Eighteenth-Century Picture Encyclopedia. By Richard Yeo 208David Boyd Haycock, William Stukeley: Science, Religion and Archaeology in Eighteenth-Century England. By Geoffrey Cantor 209Jessica Riskin, Science in the Age of Sensibility: The Sentimental Empiricists of the French Enlightenment. By Dorinda Outram 210Michel Chaouli, The Laboratory of Poetry: Chemistry and Poetics in the Work of Friedrich Schlegel. By David Knight 211George Levine, Dying to Know: Scientific Epistemology and Narrative in Victorian England. By Michael H. Whitworth 212Agustí Nieto-Galan, Colouring Textiles: A History of Natural Dyestuffs in Industrial Europe. By Ursula Klein 214Stuart McCook, States of Nature: Science, Agriculture, and Environment in the Spanish Caribbean, 1760–1940. By Piers J. Hale 215Paola Govoni, Un pubblico per la scienza: La divulgazione scientifica nell'Italia in formazione. By Pietro Corsi 216R. W. Home, A. M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D. M. Sinkora and J. H. Voigt (eds.), Regardfully Yours: Selected Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller. Volume II: 1860–1875. By Jim Endersby 217Douglas R. Weiner, Models of Nature: Ecology, Conservation and Cultural Revolution in Soviet Russia. With a New Afterword. By Piers J. Hale 219Helge Kragh, Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century. By Steven French 220Antony Kamm and Malcolm Baird, John Logie Baird: A Life. By Sean Johnston 221Robin L. Chazdon and T. C. Whitmore (eds.), Foundations of Tropical Forest Biology: Classic Papers with Commentaries. By Joel B. Hagen 223Stephen Jay Gould, I Have Landed: Splashes and Reflections in Natural History. By Peter J. Bowler 223Henry Harris, Things Come to Life: Spontaneous Generation Revisited. By Rainer Brömer 224Hélène Gispert (ed.), ‘Par la Science, pour la patrie’: L'Association française pour l'avancement des sciences (1872–1914), un projet politique pour une société savante. By Cristina Chimisso 225Henry Le Chatelier, Science et industrie: Les Débuts du taylorisme en France. By Robert Fox 227Margit Szöllösi-Janze (ed.), Science in the Third Reich. By Jonathan Harwood 227Vadim J. Birstein, The Perversion of Knowledge; The true Story of Soviet Science. By C. A. J. Chilvers 229Guy Hartcup, The Effect of Science on the Second World War. By David Edgerton 230Lillian Hoddeson and Vicki Daitch, True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen, the Only Winner of Two Nobel Prizes in Physics. By Arne Hessenbruch 230Stephen B. Johnson, The Secret of Apollo: Systems Management in American and European Space Programs, John M. Logsdon (ed.), Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program. Volume V: Exploring the Cosmos and Douglas J. Mudgway, Uplink-Downlink: A History of the Deep Space Network 1957–1997. By Jon Agar 231Helen Ross and Cornelis Plug, The Mystery of the Moon Illusion: Exploring Size Perception. By Klaus Hentschel 233Matthew R. Edwards (ed.), Pushing Gravity: New Perspectives on Le Sage's Theory of Gravitation. By Friedrich Steinle 234Ernest B. Hook (ed.), Prematurity in Scientific Discovery: On Resistance and Neglect. By Alex Dolby 235John Waller, Fabulous Science: Fact and Fiction in the History of Scientific Discovery. By Alex Dolby 236Rosalind Williams, Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change. By Keith Vernon 237Colin Divall and Andrew Scott, Making Histories in Transport Museums. By Anthony Coulls 238

Purpose: The depiction of the problems of conflicts and contradictions and graphical portrayal of the web of human relationship among people of varied races in South African society by Coetzee has been identified as the focus of the study. The British rule had an impact on South Africa that comprised the native South Africans or black race, Afrikaners or the white South Africans and the white people of colonial authority. The research has reviewed related research articles, books and research theses done on the novels of J.M. Coetzee to consolidate the data on the portrayal of the web of human relationship among people of varied races in South Africa. A close reading of select novels of Coetzee also reveals the effects of racism and colonial oppression. More importantly, his writings transcend political, geographical and social boundaries to achieve universal significance. The study of related literature in the works of Coetzee further discloses his ability not only to delineate local situations and characters but to infuse them with universal ideology and characteristics of his mission as well. However, the study to achieve research focus has been confined to the web of human relationships. His use of the country's apartheid system and its post-apartheid transition to represent the bareness and desolation of the human state has also been brought under the discussion. Thus, the present study intends to bring out social relationship existing amidst the native South Africans, the Afrikaners or the white South Africans and the people from white authority in apartheid society of South Africa, with specific reference to select novels. Design/Methodology/Approach: The researcher has reviewed almost fifty research articles, fifteen books and fifteen research theses for Master Degree, Master of Philosophy and Doctorate in Philosophy on the novels of Coetzee. Hard copies of some of the books were accessed in the St. Aloysius College library, Mangalore and EFLU library, Hyderabad. The online search was made to collect the database through Google scholar. The studies reviewed are peer reviewed journals, original research papers, National and International Publications. The researcher has referred and followed APA Manuel for the analyses of the research work. Findings/Result: After reviewing a greater number of articles, books and theses it has been found that the multiple interpretations which were given to Coetzee’s novels help to emerge his mission which is more quizzical, more explorative. On reading his novels, one may find out that Coetzee does not stop with describing and delineating local situations and characters, but infuses them with universal ideology and characteristics of his mission. Originality/Value: It’s proven that the web of social relationship and social reality are not a fixed presence; it varies from person to person, place to place, culture to culture, and country to country in any moment or situation. Genuine social and human relationship developed and sustained with the true nobleness of humanity is the means to thwart the ills and troubles of the societal conflicts and contradictions. Paper Type: Analytical research based on review of literature.

Derek Attridge's emphasis on cautious reading is a strength of this dedication to Coetzee's analysis since his concept of "moral of reading" (6) focuses on the "formal uniqueness of Coetzee's writings" and the scholarly text as an "opportunity for both its creator and peruser" (9). However, such a methodology risks emphasizing aestheticism, the text's legitimate features, above its political implications, and even though Attridge is aware of this and attempts to refute it, he does not decide it. This is especially evident in his reading of J.M. Coetzee's 1980 novel Waiting for the Barbarians, which exemplifies broader concerns within the subject. Following a subtle, emotionally-charged reaction to a section of the text, Attridge suggests that Coetzee's books work "against" figurative readings and that readers should value "the experience of reading for itself, as opposed to because it [points to] particular insights about the world or South Africa in particular." While the original's investigation into the death of a detainee may reflect the South African government's accounts of Biko's death, Attridge acknowledges that it is beneath the capable reader to interpret produced by craft as highlighting real-world suffering. The work of J.M. Coetzee compels readers to consider the depiction of political violence in South Africa during and after Apartheid. His work investigates the processes that shape human and non-human hierarchization and the effects of physical and psychological violence on victims, offenders, and observers. In a word, his writing illustrates the consequences of encountering and attempting to represent the other. J. M. Coetzee is concerned with core moral concerns, such as post-apartheid disillusionment and race relations in his native country. In disgrace, he immerses the audience in the struggle of a disgraced university professor, Lurie, to defend his and his daughter Lucy's honor in post-apartheid South Africa. This postcolonial story addresses, from a political, ethical, and psychological aspect, racial payback against whites that appears to arise as neo-racism by blacks, as the title suggests.

Scenario: You are exhausted after a long day at work and collapse in front of the television for some mindless entertainment. One of your favourite comedy shows is on. You begin to relax. You laugh a couple of times. There's a commercial break. You watch the first ad for a hardware store, giving it only half your attention. And then there's another ad, something about a father and son in a car together and then ". WOOOMPH! A truck slams into the car. The message is "Speed kills!" Or there are people playing and sunbathing on a beach, happy holidays, and then vultures descend and surround them. The message is "Slip! Slop! Slap! Don't die in the sun this summer". Or someone is shown smoking a cigarette and the caption reads : "Give up now. You'll soon stop dying for a cigarette". This might be accompanied by scenes of a post-mortem, dissections of human lungs or brain. Context Threat appeals are used frequently in health and road safety promotion. Many use the threat of death as the consequence of undesirable behaviours, for example, "Quit smoking or you'll die' (Henley and Donovan). ("Non-death threats' appeal to other consequences such as "Quit smoking or your skin will age'.) There is an implicit notion of premature death threat, although this is rarely stated explicitly. When reminded of our risk of premature death, we are reminded by extension of the ultimate inevitability of our death. An understanding of the philosophy of existentialism can help us understand why consumers may, quite reasonably, tune out, or literally switch off health promotion messages that remind them of their own death. This paper explores the effect on consumers of these mass media invocations of the fear of death, or "death threats'. Verbatim comments are included from six focus groups conducted on fear and health promotion. Groups were delineated by age (16-20 years, 21-29 years and 30-49 years), gender, and socio-economic status (blue collar/white collar) (Henley). What is existential dread? Fear is one of the primary human emotions (along with anger, sadness, love, joy and surprise) and "dread' is one of the emotion names associated with fear (Shaver et al. 1067). We do not need to learn how to feel fear. We have to learn what to fear, however. Despite the joke about death and taxes, death is uniquely inevitable. (Some people do manage to avoid taxes!) In his definitive work, Denial of Death, Becker stated his belief that knowledge of our own death is the source of 'man's peculiar and greatest anxiety' (70); it's what makes us human. Existentialists think that knowing about the inevitability of our own death can be overwhelming, arousing the worst fear imaginable, "existential dread' (Bugental 287). Existential philosophers and psychologists believe that part of this anxiety stems from the existential dread of "not being'. Discussing Heidegger's analysis of the meaning of death in Being and Time, Barrett put it this way: The point is that I may die at any moment, and therefore death is my possibility now. It is like a precipice at my feet. It is also the most extreme and absolute of my possibilities: extreme, because it is the possibility of not being and hence cuts off all other possibilities; absolute, because man can surmount all other heartbreaks, even the deaths of those he loves, but his own death puts an end to him (201). The essence of existential philosophy is this idea that we are all deeply, terribly afraid of death. Fear of death can be seen even in very young children (Anthony, The child's; Anthony, The discovery; Nagy) who express considerable anxiety about death, but quickly learn from their parents and others how to deny it (Yalom). Existential psychologists have suggested that the fear of our own death is the cause of much of our psychopathology (Yalom). Existentialists believe that the most common response to existential anxiety is to deny it, creating in oneself a 'state of forgetfulness of being' as far as possible. Weisman described three levels of denial in terminally ill patients: "first-order denial' of the facts of illness; "second-order denial' of the implications of the illness; and "third-order denial' of death itself. He noted that often a patient moves from first and second order denial into "middle knowledge' (i.e., acceptance of near death), but then relapses. Weisman remarked that this relapse is often the signal that the terminal phase has begun. This aspect of denial is a complicated factor in the complex measurement of death anxiety. When people say they are not afraid of death, who can say whether they are denying fear or truly not afraid? In either case, health promotion appeals that threaten death may not be effective, either because the fear is denied or because there is no fear. In focus groups exploring people's concepts of death (Henley 111), few people acknowledged being afraid of their own death and many specifically stated that they were not afraid of their own death. One woman voiced the universal difficulty of truly conceiving what it might be like "not to be' (Kastenbaum and Aisenberg) when she said: 'death seems like such an unrealistic proposition'. People did acknowledge fears about death, such as dying painfully, so health promotion messages that threaten these other dimensions of death anxiety may be more effective. Health promotion practitioners frequently use these related death fears. The fear of causing death, for example, is used in road safety advertisements. However, this discussion on existential fear is limited to threat appeals of death per se. Death threats in health promotion Is arousing existential dread an effective way to market healthy behaviours? At first sight, it seems logical that the threat of death would be more persuasive than lesser threats and yet it may not be the most effective approach. There is some evidence that lesser threats may be more effective for some groups of adolescents and young adults for smoking (Donovan and Leivers), and for road safety behaviours (Donovan et al.). For example, for some 18 year old males, the threat of being caught drinking and driving, of losing their driving licence and, thus, their new-found independence may be a more effective deterrent than the threat of dying in a car accident (Donovan et al.). The humiliation of being arrested and charged for drink-driving may be the most powerful persuader for adults of all ages (Bevins). For men attending the Jerusalem Centre for Impotency and Fertility, impotence was reported a more persuasive threat than death: 78% of men who were told that smoking causes impotence quit smoking, compared to 40% who quit when told that smoking causes heart attacks ("No smoking tip"). One woman in a focus group said, 'you tend to think short-term, "can I afford a $100 fine?" rather than long-term, "this is my life." If I stop to think about it, obviously I'm more afraid of dying than $100 [fine], but that's not what I think about' (Henley 95). This makes sense in the context of forgetfulness, the denial of death. We don't want to be reminded of our death so we switch off the death message. Lesser threats may be more easily internalised. Does arousing existential dread do any harm? Perhaps. Job suggested that fear arousal is likely to be effective only for specific behaviours that successfully reduce the level of fear arousal and that high-fear messages may actually increase behaviours that people employ to reduce anxiety, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. People high in anxiety are hypothesised to be hypersensitive to threats and likely to employ a restricted range of self-soothing coping behaviours to reduce negative affect (Wickramasekera and Price). Death threat appeals such as "Quit smoking or you'll die' may arouse defensive, counter-productive responses, at least in some people, because it is impossible to identify any specific behaviour that could successfully reduce the particular, unique fear of death per se. Firestone identified a number of psychological defences against death anxiety, including self-nourishing and addictive habits, such as smoking and overeating. Ironically, these same behaviours are frequently the subject of health promotion campaigns. If such campaigns arouse death anxiety in an effort to curb defensive responses to death anxiety, there clearly could be an increase rather than a decrease in those defensive responses. Arousing death anxiety might contribute to fatalistic thinking. Job described some people's defenses against very high fear, for example, "...you've got to go sometime' or "...when your number's up, your number's up'. In focus groups, people commented, 'if an accident is going to happen, it's going to happen' and 'what's the point of giving up [unhealthy behaviours] if you get run over by a bus tomorrow?' (Henley 95, 108). Rippetoe and Rogers found that fatalistic thinking occurred when subjects did not believe that the recommended behaviour would avert the threat. That is, people may realise that quitting smoking could avert lung cancer and even some causes of premature death but that nothing can avert death itself. Fatalism may be one of the most maladaptive responses because the threat is acknowledged but rendered ineffective (Rippetoe and Rogers). Social marketers can make some of their persuasive communications more effective if they are more mindful of consumers' existential fears. A sensitivity to consumers' psychological defences against existential fear may result in more effective use of threat appeals in health promotion. Mindfulness Mindful that the title of this paper itself may arouse some existential dread, I end with a comment on the existentialist alternative to denial. Existentialists advocate a state of 'mindfulness of being' or 'ontological mode' (Heidegger, quoted in Yalom 31) in which "one remains mindful of being, not only mindful of the fragility of being but mindful, too ... of one's responsibility for one's own being." (Yalom 31). The existentialist strives to be as mindful, as present in the moment, and therefore as authentic as possible. This involves the acceptance of existential anxiety as an appropriate and reasonable response to the human condition (Bugental). Some focus group participants wanted to know in advance that they were going to die, 'so you can fit things in you'd want to do and say goodbye'. Others thought it was better not to know or 'you'd start having regrets'. One person pointed out that we do know in advance: 'you know you're going to die sometime!'. This last comment was followed by a sober, almost shocked silence suggesting that, even while we are freely discussing death on one level, the full meaning of death may still elude us. As consumers of health promotion messages, we are exposed to many reminders of our finite existence. If we sit mindlessly in front of the television receiving these messages, we may feel some unresolved discomfort. People talk about looking away, or switching channels when particularly shocking ads are shown. The existentialist alternative response would be to embrace these reminders and use them to sustain a state of mindfulness. With this state of mindfulness comes a heightened sense of responsibility for one's own being. It is in this ontological mode that we are most likely to adopt the healthy behaviours recommended in health promotion messages. By hearing the death threat openly, and acting to protect ourselves from at least those causes of premature death that may lie within our control, we may be able to discover a fuller experience of what it means to be alive. References Anthony, Sylvia. The Child's Discovery of Death. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1940. Anthony, Sylvia. The Discovery of Death in Childhood and After. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Education, 1973. Barrett, W. Irrational Man, A Study in Existential Philosophy. London: Heinemann, 1958. Becker, Ernest. 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Shaver, P., J. Schwartz, D. Kirson, and C. O'Connor. "Emotion Knowledge: Further Exploration of a Prototype Approach." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52.6 (1987): 1061-1086. Weisman, A.D. On dying and denying: A psychiatric study of terminality. New York: Behavioral Publications, 1972. Wickramasekera, Ian and Daniel C. Price. "Morbid Obesity, Absorption, Neuroticism, and the High Risk Model of Threat Perception." American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 39 (1997): 291-301. Yalom, I. D. Existential Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books, 1980. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Henley, Nadine. "You will die! " M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5.1 (2002). [your date of access] < http://www.media-culture.org.au/0203/youwilldie.php>. Chicago Style Henley, Nadine, "You will die! " M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5, no. 1 (2002), < http://www.media-culture.org.au/0203/youwilldie.php> ([your date of access]). APA Style Henley, Nadine. (2002) You will die! . M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5(1). < http://www.media-culture.org.au/0203/youwilldie.php> ([your date of access]).