The Animal at Unease with Itself: Death Anxiety and the Animal–Human Boundary in Genesis 2–3 by Isaac M. Alderman

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Animal at Unease with Itself: Death Anxiety and the Animal–Human Boundary in Genesis 2–3 by Isaac M. Alderman Jennifer L. Koosed isaac m. alderman, The Animal at Unease with Itself: Death Anxiety and the Animal–Human Boundary in Genesis 2–3 (Lanham, MD: Lexington/Fortress Academic, 2020). Pp xxv + 187. $100. In this work, Isaac Alderman brings together animal studies and cognitive research, specifically terror management theory. Despite any expectations raised by the title of the book, Genesis 2–3 is not the central focus; rather, A. uses seven chapters to explicate his method, arriving at his exegesis of Genesis 2–3 only in the last two chapters. In this way, A. uses the creation story as a test case for the approach he is advancing. He argues that the concepts of animal reminder disgust and death anxiety, derived from cognitive science, provide important insight into any biblical text that grapples with mortality, focuses on the human body, or addresses animal life. All three themes are present in Genesis 2–3. A.’s work advocates for a wide-ranging interdisciplinarity that draws from the humanities as well as from the sciences and the social sciences. A. has developed a hermeneutical frame that could be used by other scholars on other texts. He has produced a thought-provoking study of Genesis 2–3, one that also becomes a wider meditation on the human condition. Alderman begins with an intriguing observation. Cognitive research is grounded in the idea that brain function is universal. We have the “same brain architecture, cognitive processes, and emotional systems” that we did six thousand years ago (p. xvi). Therefore, the brains of the biblical writers processed information and responded to stimuli exactly as our brains do today. Consequently, using cognitive science can open a window into biblical meaning. A. deftly describes complex theory and research, sketching it out succinctly and clearly. His most important conversation partners are the philosopher Jacques Derrida and the cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker. Charles Darwin also makes contributions to the discussion. The first chapter lays the groundwork for A.’s approach by addressing cognitive science, and how this research has been adopted in the humanities, particularly for understanding what is happening in the brain when we tell stories and when we perform rituals. Cognitive science has been employed by a few biblical scholars (most notably Ellen J. van Wolde). What sets A.’s approach apart is his focus on terror management theory, to which [End Page 482] he turns in chap. 2. Human beings are unique in the animal kingdom in that we can anticipate our own death and contemplate mortality. Such contemplation provokes anxiety. We then develop strategies to help decrease this anxiety. Since identification with animals reminds us of our own mortality, one buffer against death anxiety is the manufacture of a strong animal–human boundary. The emotion of disgust—also unique to humans—functions as one of these coping mechanisms, helping to police the animal–human boundary. In chap. 3, A. explores in more depth the shared corporality between humans and other animals and the anxiety that our shared bodies produces in us. Here A. argues that mind/body dualism is intuitive and helps protect against death anxiety. He identifies dualism in the biblical text and hence challenges the idea that the people of Israel were more holistic in their understanding of the human person. Chapters 4 and 5 examine cultural systems that have developed to protect us from contemplation of our own mortality. Belief in an afterlife and rituals around death both function to decrease death anxiety and strengthen the human–animal boundary. In chap. 5, A. looks at other cultural systems generated to decrease death anxiety. Terror management theory connects human concern with appearance (adornment, hair removal, clothing) to death anxiety because such acts transform our bodies into symbols. Chapters 6 and 7 address animal studies, explicating the theory and then turning to the use of animals (materially and symbolically) in the Bible and in ancient Near Eastern culture. The examination of animals includes a section on clothing. Clothing is often made from animals and animal products; clothing has complex symbolic value and...