Gandhi Journal Article-III ( September 2016 )
Thanatos, Terror and Tolerance: An Analysis of Terror Management Theory and a Possible Contribution by Gandhi
By Kuruvilla Pandikattu SJ and Gini George
Gandhian description of Swaraj as the "abandonment of the fear of death" is the point of departure of this article. Following the cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker, the relationship between death, terror and our ability to tolerate others who live or think differently from us is discussed. For this purpose, the Terror Management Theory of Death as elaborated by scholars in the last thirty years is examined closely. Besides outlining some of the main insights of Terror Management Theory (TMT), the paper highlights the challenge that Gandhi offers to it through his life and death. In spite of the terror that is caused by the awareness of our own death (Thanatos) and the corresponding tendency towards intolerance, there are some people, like Gandhi, who can look directly at death and still practise tolerance.
