Terror Management Theory and grand-metanarratives

The search for a consilient ethics of conscious limitedness for the ecological transition

Abstract

The multiple crises of the Anthropocene result from unsustainable individual behaviours and collective choices. Ethics play a key role in mediating human interactions with one another and the planet. To address these challenges, it’s essential to examine dominant ethical systems and whether they can be redirected to encourage sustainable behaviours. However, the evolution of ethical systems remains unclear, making it difficult to identify leverage points for fostering an ecologically sound cultural paradigm. This paper draws on Terror Management Theory (TMT), which suggests that cultural systems evolve in response to humans' awareness of their biological limitations. We argue that both individual and collective actions rely on a shared system of beliefs, or grand-metanarratives, that give meaning to experiences. We highlight the disembodiment metanarrative in the Western Judeo-Christian paradigm as central to the expansion of global beliefs. This paradigm first promoted the religious myth of redemption, then legitimized the narrative of progress that underpins industrial civilization. We propose that a counter-hegemonic narrative is necessary, one that emphasizes the re-embodiment of human existence within ecological limits. Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ Encyclical Letter offers a potential stimulus for a paradigm shift towards a more empathetic, humble worldview. We argue that this shift must be ontologically open and epistemologically pluralist, laying the foundation for the emergence of global and localized ecological consciousness.