In 1881 a well known comet named Halley’s Comet was scheduled to pass by the earth in 1910. Many believed that Halley’s Comet contained a deadly gas. “That was the speculation reprinted on the front pages of “The New York Times” and other newspapers, resulting in a widespread panic across the United States and abroad”(Radford,2009). As the time came closer to 1910 the panic quieted as yet another end of the world prediction was proven false.
For most of recorded history people have been looking for the end of the world. Ever since Noah and his Ark there have been fears of the end. Even with the flood that took place thousands of years ago the world did not end it just changed. So why do so many people fear the end of the world. When and if it happens there isn’t anything anyone can do about it.
People who believe in end of the world theories often hold them due to conflicting beliefs.
“Problems have become so big, with no solutions in sight, that we no longer see ourselves able as human beings to solve these problems,” DiTommaso said. “From a biblical point of view, God is going to solve them. From other points of view, there has to be some sort of catastrophe.”
(Pappas,2011)
What this means is that people feel desperate and they need something to turn to. Human existence is very stressful; everyone must find a way to provide for his or her basic needs as well as worrying about disasters that happen. The end of the world may seem like some sort of resolution; after all humans can’t really go on struggling forever can they?
For the human mind an end to the suffering may seem like a relief. Humans know everyone must die at some point but rather than facing their own death alone they see it as more of a collective death; the end of everyone and everything.
In the movie Knowing the main character struggles to understand what a code means that seems to point to certain disasters. He struggles to prevent each and every disaster until he realizes he must accept his fate and in accepting his fate he knows it is the end of everything. This is the ultimate end of the world scenario where everyone and everything dies within one fatal blow.
Cognitive Dissonance is basically a lie a person tells himself or herself in order to feel better about something. Is the end of the world theories just a lie to comfort the person in order for that person not to accept the truth? In 2011 Harold Camping predicted the world to end on May 21, 2011 and when it didn’t he simply adjusted his prediction instead of admitting his failed prediction.
Is the end of the world a simple means to exploit others, gain attention or make money? Is it a psychological mindset that all things must end or is it something much deeper? The answer is it can be all of these things. Each person deals with death and the end in a different way. Some believe they will be there for the ultimate end of the world while others believe it will happen long after they are gone. Psychologically speaking the end of world theories are Individualto each belief and each person.
References:
Pappas,S.(2011). The Draw of Doomsday: Why People Look Forward to the End. Retrieved Jan 11, 2011 from http://www.livescience.com/14179-doomsday-psychology-21-judgment-day-apocalypse.html
Radford.(2009).10 Failed Doomsday Predictions. Retrieved Jan 11, 2011 from http://www.livescience.com/7926-10-failed-doomsday-predictions.html