The Denial of Death 
The Denial of Death [1973] ★★★★It is fateful and ironic how the lie we need in order to live dooms us to a life that is never really ours [Becker, 1973: 56].Ernest Becker (1924 1974) was a cultural anthropologist whose book The Denial of Death won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize. It deals with the topic that few people want to consider or talk about their own mortality and death. The paradox is that, although this topic is considered to be a societal taboo, everyone on this earth will have to
Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level. - Ernest BeckerThis book won the Pulitzer Prize the same year that Ernest Becker died in 1974. His long works on Oedipus Theory, heroism, psychoanalysis and neurosis are an eye opener and makes you dive deeper in this human brain.In The Denial of Death, Becker tried to explore the human obsession with life and immortality and the unconscious fear of mortality and oblivion which we

"We repress our bodies to purchase a soul that time cannot destroy; we sacrifice pleasure to buy immortality; we encapsulate ourselves to avoid death. And life escapes us while we huddle within the defended fortress of character." ~Sam KeenConsumption. There are books that I read and then there are books that I consume. Denial of Death was consumed. This reads more 1990's than 1970's, a testament to Ernest Becker's acumen. It is both critical and reverent of Sigmond Freud's psychoanalytical
I dont want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying. I dont want to live in the hearts of my countrymen; I want to live in my apartment. Woody Allen.Beckers main thesis in this book is that the most fundamental problem of mankind, sitting at his very core, is his fear of death. Being the only animal that is conscious of his inevitable mortality, his lifes project is to deny or repress this fear, and hence his need for some kind of a heroism. Every
Quintessentially 1970s, this mish-mash of Freudian analysis and biological determinism starts out by exploring the principles of Sociobiology and making a lot of grandiose statements about human narcissism as an inborn trait resultant from "countless ages of evolution" (2). Blithely dismissing religious tradition and appealing to ideas of childhood imprinting and unconscious suppression as the primary drivers of adult thought and behavior, Becker's main thesis is that if only we could realize
If Ernest Becker can show that psychoanalysis is both a science and a mythic belief system, he will have found a way around mans anxiety over death. Or maybe not. This book is a card trick that conjures sham religion out of sham science, with death playing a supporting role. Becker tells us that the idea that man can give his life meaning through self-creation is wrong. Only a mythico-religious perspective will provide whats needed to face the terror of death. Thats an interesting idea, but
Ernest Becker
Paperback | Pages: 336 pages Rating: 4.16 | 7539 Users | 749 Reviews

Mention About Books The Denial of Death
Title | : | The Denial of Death |
Author | : | Ernest Becker |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 336 pages |
Published | : | May 8th 1997 by Free Press (first published 1973) |
Categories | : | Philosophy. Psychology. Nonfiction. Death. Sociology. Science |
Rendition To Books The Denial of Death
Winner of the Pulitzer prize in 1974 and the culmination of a life's work, The Denial of Death is Ernest Becker's brilliant and impassioned answer to the "why" of human existence. In bold contrast to the predominant Freudian school of thought, Becker tackles the problem of the vital lie -- man's refusal to acknowledge his own mortality. In doing so, he sheds new light on the nature of humanity and issues a call to life and its living that still resonates more than twenty years after its writing.Point Books Conducive To The Denial of Death
Original Title: | The Denial Of Death |
ISBN: | 0684832402 (ISBN13: 9780684832401) |
Edition Language: | English |
Literary Awards: | Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (1974) |
Rating About Books The Denial of Death
Ratings: 4.16 From 7539 Users | 749 ReviewsWeigh Up About Books The Denial of Death
Becker introduces the very basic idea that we humans have four distinguishing features: (1) we can contemplate our death, we do contemplate -- and try to deny -- our death, and (2) we can create symbolic realities of thought and action, and (3) we project and perpetuate symbolic realities of thought and action to create systems that will outlive -- in an everyday sense "transcend" our physical mortality; we want to symbolically live on and some of us succeed in doing so (a major point at the endThe Denial of Death [1973] ★★★★It is fateful and ironic how the lie we need in order to live dooms us to a life that is never really ours [Becker, 1973: 56].Ernest Becker (1924 1974) was a cultural anthropologist whose book The Denial of Death won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize. It deals with the topic that few people want to consider or talk about their own mortality and death. The paradox is that, although this topic is considered to be a societal taboo, everyone on this earth will have to
Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level. - Ernest BeckerThis book won the Pulitzer Prize the same year that Ernest Becker died in 1974. His long works on Oedipus Theory, heroism, psychoanalysis and neurosis are an eye opener and makes you dive deeper in this human brain.In The Denial of Death, Becker tried to explore the human obsession with life and immortality and the unconscious fear of mortality and oblivion which we

"We repress our bodies to purchase a soul that time cannot destroy; we sacrifice pleasure to buy immortality; we encapsulate ourselves to avoid death. And life escapes us while we huddle within the defended fortress of character." ~Sam KeenConsumption. There are books that I read and then there are books that I consume. Denial of Death was consumed. This reads more 1990's than 1970's, a testament to Ernest Becker's acumen. It is both critical and reverent of Sigmond Freud's psychoanalytical
I dont want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying. I dont want to live in the hearts of my countrymen; I want to live in my apartment. Woody Allen.Beckers main thesis in this book is that the most fundamental problem of mankind, sitting at his very core, is his fear of death. Being the only animal that is conscious of his inevitable mortality, his lifes project is to deny or repress this fear, and hence his need for some kind of a heroism. Every
Quintessentially 1970s, this mish-mash of Freudian analysis and biological determinism starts out by exploring the principles of Sociobiology and making a lot of grandiose statements about human narcissism as an inborn trait resultant from "countless ages of evolution" (2). Blithely dismissing religious tradition and appealing to ideas of childhood imprinting and unconscious suppression as the primary drivers of adult thought and behavior, Becker's main thesis is that if only we could realize
If Ernest Becker can show that psychoanalysis is both a science and a mythic belief system, he will have found a way around mans anxiety over death. Or maybe not. This book is a card trick that conjures sham religion out of sham science, with death playing a supporting role. Becker tells us that the idea that man can give his life meaning through self-creation is wrong. Only a mythico-religious perspective will provide whats needed to face the terror of death. Thats an interesting idea, but
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