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Primal Fears Explored with Humanity’s Oldest Story as Our Guide – The Epic of Gilgamesh
September 27, 2013 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm PDT
Humanity’s most primal fear is the fear of death. The desire to escape physical death is a fundamental fact of human existence. Recent technological advancements in medicine and robotics have made the ability to live forever a much more tantalizing possibility. In this lecture and workshop, we will explore the meaning of this primal fear and fundamental yearning, using humanity’s oldest story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, as our guide. This story from ancient Iraq tells of the exploits of mighty King Gilgamesh whose fear of physical death compelled him to seek out a legendary figure considered to be the only human granted immortality by the gods. Gilgamesh’s exploits reflect enduring truths about our fears and desires and suggest how we can better prepare for life’s ultimate goal. During the Friday lecture, we will discuss the contemporary search for immortality and sketch the elements of the Gilgamesh story. On Saturday, we will use lecture and discussion to explore the roots of our own yearning for immortality with the Gilgamesh story as a valuable guide.
Related Workshop: Insights into the Achievement of True Immortality
JIM KLINE, PH.D., received his Ph.D. in psychology with a Jungian Studies specialization from Saybrook University, San Francisco, California. He also holds an MFA degree in Creative Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, California, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He currently works in the Social Sciences and Fine Arts Department of Northern Marianas College (NMC) and for the past several years has served as professor of psychology within the department. He has published numerous articles in various Jungian-themed professional psychological journals and is the author of The Otherworld in Myth, Folklore, Cinema, and Brain Science (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019). His most recent publication is Nonrational Logic in Contemporary Society: A Depth Psychology Perspective on Magical Thinking, Conspiracy Theories, and Folk Devils Among Us (Routledge, 2023).
