Good in Theory: A Political Philosophy Podcast

37 - Thought Lab 4: The Psychology of Horror

Clif Mark

Grizzly bears are scary. But what about zombie grizzly bears? What’s makes something horrifying rather than just frightening? 

Paul has a theory. It turns out that humans have a psychological way of organizing the world that also creates the possibility of getting really creeped-out. It helps explain the horror of the zombie grizzly why the old Dracula was creepier than Twilight and how war propaganda can turn enemies into monsters. 


References

David Livingstone-Smith (philosopher where Paul’s getting his ideas about essentialism and dehumanization from)

Credits 

Paul Sagar
Clayton Tapp (intro)
David Zikovitz (outro)
Sep (art)

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