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" The Animal at Unease with Itself; Death Anxiety and the Human-animal Boundary in Genesis 2-3 "
Alderman, Isaac M.
Bosworth, David
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Latin Dissertation
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Record Number
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1051484
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| Doc. No
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TL50601
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| Main Entry
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Alderman, Isaac M.
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| Title & Author
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The Animal at Unease with Itself; Death Anxiety and the Human-animal Boundary in Genesis 2-3\ Alderman, Isaac M.Bosworth, David
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| College
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The Catholic University of America
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| Date
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2019
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| student score
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2019
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| Note
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274 p.
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| Abstract
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Although some fields in the humanities have already experienced the "cognitive turn," the insights from research in cognition are little used by biblical scholars. I suggest that this research has a lot to offer biblical scholars and I attempt to utilize their work in studying death anxiety and the animal-human boundary in order to better understand the role of clothing in Genesis 2-3. Humans have an advantage over all other animal species because our intelligence allows us to anticipate far into the future. This has a downside, however, in that we are the only species that can ruminate on our own death. Humans can experience the terror of oncoming death even in the absence of danger. Based on the work of Ernest Becker, terror management theory asserts that humans have overcome this potentially debilitating death anxiety by creating cultural systems that allow us to participate meaningfully in an eternal structure, giving the sense of immortality and keeping death anxiety at bay. Research in support of terror management theory shows that death anxiety leads us to emphasize a boundary between humans and other animals. The Hebrew Bible is filled with stories, laws, and reflections on the human body, animals, and death, and participates in the maintenance of the animal-human boundary through societal norms regarding grooming and clothing. Theorists working in clothing have long recognized the meaningfulness of clothing, but it appears that biblical scholars have not. Biblical commentators have generally viewed the clothing of Genesis 2-3 to be etiological or symbolic with regard to sexuality, sin, and shame. The research in support of terror management theory demonstrates a web of connections between death, the human body, and animals. Creation narratives, which tend to contain all these elements, might very well be concerned with upholding the animal-human boundary. When read with this conclusion in mind, we can easily see how clothing in Gen 2-3 functions as a reinforcement of this boundary. As the only animal whose body brings the discomfort of death anxiety, the humans distinguish themselves through the wearing of clothes.
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| Descriptor
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Biblical studies
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| Added Entry
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Bosworth, David
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| Added Entry
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The Catholic University of America
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