Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
The Free Press, 1973, 285 pages
Description
Philosophy. Psychology. Nonfiction. HTML: 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 thirty years after its publication. The Denial of Death was the last book Dr. Becker published before his premature death in 1974. His insightful and powerful ideas are sure to last for generations..
User reviews
LibraryThing member dmsteyn
“Do not try to live forever. You will not succeed.” – George Bernard Shaw
This is an excellent psychology book, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1974, the same year that Becker died. You can view that as ironic or not, but it is also poignant. The book is concerned with
Becker’s main pre-cursor was [[Otto Rank]], whom Becker quotes extensively in support of his argument. He also makes use of the philosophical work of [[Soren Kierkegaard]], whose theories concerning existential dread predated Freud by a more than a hundred years. Kierkegaard is also one of my favourite authors, so I found the section on him fascinating. Rank also seems to have been a brilliant writer, who is sadly neglected. [[Carl Gustav Jung]]’s work is also considered and, although Becker does not agree with all Jung’s arguments, he does prefer him to Freud. It seems that Freud gets bashed a lot nowadays, which is not what Becker does. He carefully examines his theories, without insulting Freud or the reader’s intelligence. He points out where he thinks Freud went wrong, but he also salvages a lot of useful things from him. Becker also investigates Freud’s own psychology, which is intriguing.
Becker shares wonderful insights into the psychology of anxiety towards death, and how this is impacted by our dual nature of embodiment and selfhood. Because we are evolutionarily programmed towards survival, we create symbolic defences against our own mortality. If one thinks about it, these are obviously always inadequate, but they do lead to a lot of unfortunate outcomes. We deny death, yet become inured to displacement tactics like war, racism, and bigotry. Our hate is often merely a way of disavowing death, which is a pointless endeavour. We also construct “hero-systems” to cope with death, as our heroes (exemplified by temporal and religious leaders) allow us to evade thinking on death (well, to a degree; it is more complex than that). According to Becker, these systems are necessary illusions: too much reality would lead to madness. Actually, and perversely, we are all mad, because we deny reality to such a degree. We are so afraid of death, that we construct vast edifices and emotional and intellectual pursuits to avoid thinking about our mortality. If we faced the truth, that would be sanity, but it would overwhelm us, leading to what we traditionally describe as “madness”.
Having been published in the 1970s, the book does share some faults that originate from its context. I actively disliked the chapter on “perversions”, for instance, as homosexuality is included here. Other than that, though, the book has few obvious faults. I am not a psychologist, so I cannot really comment on its insights in any depth, but I can say that it was very convincing and clearly written. I could write a lot more about this book; it really jolted me. Let me just end by quoting from its Wikipedia page, to show what an impact it has had:
Becker's work has had a wide cultural impact beyond the fields of psychology and philosophy. The book made an appearance in Woody Allen's film Annie Hall, when the death-obsessed character Alvy Singer buys it for his girlfriend Annie. It was referred to by Spalding Gray in his work It's a Slippery Slope. Bill Clinton quoted it in his autobiography; he also included it as one of 21 titles in his list of favourite books.
This is an excellent psychology book, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1974, the same year that Becker died. You can view that as ironic or not, but it is also poignant. The book is concerned with
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dispelling many of the myths concerning psychology, especially Freud’s views on sexuality as the bedrock of psycho-analysis. Using psychological data and philosophical insights, Becker posits a radical revision of the psychological field. According to Becker, it is not so much sex, as our fear of death that shapes our psychology, and which leads to neurosis and psychosis. Of course, he does not deny that sex has a role to play, as well as biology, but he contends that Freud made a huge mistake (which has been perpetuated ever since) by making it the be-all and end-all of psychology.Becker’s main pre-cursor was [[Otto Rank]], whom Becker quotes extensively in support of his argument. He also makes use of the philosophical work of [[Soren Kierkegaard]], whose theories concerning existential dread predated Freud by a more than a hundred years. Kierkegaard is also one of my favourite authors, so I found the section on him fascinating. Rank also seems to have been a brilliant writer, who is sadly neglected. [[Carl Gustav Jung]]’s work is also considered and, although Becker does not agree with all Jung’s arguments, he does prefer him to Freud. It seems that Freud gets bashed a lot nowadays, which is not what Becker does. He carefully examines his theories, without insulting Freud or the reader’s intelligence. He points out where he thinks Freud went wrong, but he also salvages a lot of useful things from him. Becker also investigates Freud’s own psychology, which is intriguing.
Becker shares wonderful insights into the psychology of anxiety towards death, and how this is impacted by our dual nature of embodiment and selfhood. Because we are evolutionarily programmed towards survival, we create symbolic defences against our own mortality. If one thinks about it, these are obviously always inadequate, but they do lead to a lot of unfortunate outcomes. We deny death, yet become inured to displacement tactics like war, racism, and bigotry. Our hate is often merely a way of disavowing death, which is a pointless endeavour. We also construct “hero-systems” to cope with death, as our heroes (exemplified by temporal and religious leaders) allow us to evade thinking on death (well, to a degree; it is more complex than that). According to Becker, these systems are necessary illusions: too much reality would lead to madness. Actually, and perversely, we are all mad, because we deny reality to such a degree. We are so afraid of death, that we construct vast edifices and emotional and intellectual pursuits to avoid thinking about our mortality. If we faced the truth, that would be sanity, but it would overwhelm us, leading to what we traditionally describe as “madness”.
Having been published in the 1970s, the book does share some faults that originate from its context. I actively disliked the chapter on “perversions”, for instance, as homosexuality is included here. Other than that, though, the book has few obvious faults. I am not a psychologist, so I cannot really comment on its insights in any depth, but I can say that it was very convincing and clearly written. I could write a lot more about this book; it really jolted me. Let me just end by quoting from its Wikipedia page, to show what an impact it has had:
Becker's work has had a wide cultural impact beyond the fields of psychology and philosophy. The book made an appearance in Woody Allen's film Annie Hall, when the death-obsessed character Alvy Singer buys it for his girlfriend Annie. It was referred to by Spalding Gray in his work It's a Slippery Slope. Bill Clinton quoted it in his autobiography; he also included it as one of 21 titles in his list of favourite books.
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LibraryThing member JBreedlove
One of the more disappointing reads. I have been looking forward to reading this book for a few years. I finally get it and it is a pseudo-scientific work describing Otto Rank's "powerful work" on personality and man's fear of Death as the basis for everything we think feel and do. Full of sweeping
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generalizations which, in my reading, be-littles the individual. Show Less
LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
How do people deal with death? By wanting to do something which endures.
LibraryThing member GlennBell
The book is written in an academic manner and is havy in psychological jargon. He is a big fan of Otto Rank and Sigmund Freud. Some of the concepts make alot of sense and are educational. I believe that the author makes too much of the differences between humans and other animals. He also often
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refers to the soul of man, which I believe is false concept. I agree that mankind does have a fear of death and that he/she tries to do things in their life toward gaining a sense of eternal life (hopelessly in reality). I concur that religion is one of these projects that provides a false security. I recommend the book to provide food for thought even though some ideas appear to be incorrect. Show Less
LibraryThing member Paul_S
Not much here unless you're interested in history of psychoanalys. Never really makes any arguments beyond "everyone wants to be the hero of the story". Not exactly ground breaking stuff the title suggets.
LibraryThing member bobshackleton
Tremendous influence on me in my college years. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member dono421846
Required reading for anyone who hopes to think meaningfully about the human condition, either philosophically or scientifically.
LibraryThing member GlennBell
Ernest Becker is well versed in psychology and provides a comparison of his theory that a main focus of our thoughts and actions are based on a concern over dealing with our inevitable death. He contrasts his view with that of Freud who emphasized the sexuality of man in his thought processes. He
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claims that both have to do with the animal nature of man. He also discusses his theory in contrast to Otto Rank. While his theory is interesting and I suspect has some truth, I suggest that he overemphasizes the concern for death and reads into many things an effort to overcome death (i..e. motivation for artistic efforts, religious associations). Some of the discussion of fetishism and perversion are interesting. The discussions are somewhat lengthy and technical. I cannot strongly recommend the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member D.C.Alexander
I have never read a book that so matched my own beliefs as to what drives "evil" deeds, great and small, in the world around us. Many will no doubt find Becker's work deeply troubling, as it essentially describes the pillars of modern civilization (religion, government, social movements, and nearly
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all forms of human endeavor) as byproducts of our fear of death. Man-made mechanisms for coping with our awareness and fear of oblivion. Regardless, the sooner people understand this, the sooner we can hopefully REASON our way free of this fear. Show Less
LibraryThing member MSarki
An important book for all of us to read, though I bogged down a bit during the sex parts. It is possible I am not as familiar with all the so-called perversions and neurosis of sexuality and therefore the actually small bit of text referring to fetishes and homosexuality was lost on me. I know that
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most of what he wrote is true for me, without a smidgen of doubt. And those areas I admit ignorance of I will have to pass on my judgment, though those parts did seem a bit dated given our present social and political states regarding same-sex unions. But this book was not at all political. Becker was covering every possible neurosis in his study of our desire for immortality, and it was refreshing and freeing to read him say things such as, "…All living organisms are condemned to perversity, to the narrowness of being mere fragments of a larger totality that overwhelms them, which they cannot understand or truly cope with — yet must still live and struggle in." Show Less
LibraryThing member knightlight777
I actually managed to listen to this entire work on audio book unabridged. A bit dated by the inferences Becker gives throughout I still found a useful venture presenting an enormous amount of material and ideas to ponder and delve into. So many in fact that it becomes nearly overwhelming to just
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keep up. Agree or disagree with the concepts Becker brings forth, very worthwhile time spent. The final lesson I gleaned from it all is we probably don't know near what we think we do about the nature and meaning of man, ourselves and can only postulate as we so often do. Show Less
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
One of the most important books ever written about a subject no one wants to even think about...
LibraryThing member drsabs
This ambitious work seeks to reveal the underlying psychological tensions of the human condition, evaluate the various ways men have sought to resolve them and make some conclusions, which might be best summarized as “Keep Calm and Carry On.” In the process, the author reviews the scientific
Such a book raises many questions. Does it adequately take into account woman’s perspective on these psychological and existential issues? Does it reflect an elitist view of the “problem” of the well-to-do individual and ignore or even disdain the life of the “masses”? Is it too beholden to its times, the 1960s (for example, in the characterization of homosexuality)? Does the book give adequate attention to the insights of sociology on its issues? Does the incorporation of so many different thinkers from so many different disciplines also contribute to confusion in seeking to grasp the differences among them? On the other hand, because of a primary focus on the psychological strand, are other important thinkers left out with little or no mention: Nietzsche, Sartre, Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel?
The questions and the complexity should not deter reading this fascinating work. It is impossible in a short summary to reveal the breadth and scope of the book’s coverage. Just to give a taste, Becker ranges from the Oedipus complex through the psychoanalytic meaning of Freud’s fainting spells to the trends of the 1960s including Norman Brown’s and Herbert Marcuse’s notions that ending repression would create a new man and the emergence of psychotherapists as the gurus for individual fulfillment. Along the way, he quotes Goethe, Montaigne, Pascal, Hegel, Marx and many others.
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discoveries of psychology starting with Sigmund Freud’s initial project of psychoanalysis and proceeding to its corrections and modifications by his opponents and successors, in particular Otto Rank. He also brings to bear the insights of existentialism (Kierkegaard, who he says anticipated modern psychology), anthropology and theology (Tillich). His intention is to bring together in one place these explorations into the fear of death to provide clarity on his subject. His basic theme is that the fear of death creates anxiety that, at least in modern times, man has not been able to resolve. He digs down into this using all of the disciplines referenced above, in particular drawing out the dualism between the organismic animal or creature-like existence of man and the self-consciousness or soul which goes beyond nature and creates culture. The anxiety of death generates a desire for immortality which man can only seek to achieve through heroic action, which Becker identifies as the central problem of mankind. He looks at this basic human condition from many angles and critiques the approach taken by thinkers in the disciplines referenced above. Along the way, there are numerous gems of insight that make the book fascinating to read, even if at the end Becker cannot provide us with the complete answer the species demands. In effect, he seems to undermine his own principal thesis concerning the primacy of the fear of death when at the end of the book he points out that man has other “vital interests” that can inspire his actions even if death cannot ultimately be denied. Such a book raises many questions. Does it adequately take into account woman’s perspective on these psychological and existential issues? Does it reflect an elitist view of the “problem” of the well-to-do individual and ignore or even disdain the life of the “masses”? Is it too beholden to its times, the 1960s (for example, in the characterization of homosexuality)? Does the book give adequate attention to the insights of sociology on its issues? Does the incorporation of so many different thinkers from so many different disciplines also contribute to confusion in seeking to grasp the differences among them? On the other hand, because of a primary focus on the psychological strand, are other important thinkers left out with little or no mention: Nietzsche, Sartre, Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel?
The questions and the complexity should not deter reading this fascinating work. It is impossible in a short summary to reveal the breadth and scope of the book’s coverage. Just to give a taste, Becker ranges from the Oedipus complex through the psychoanalytic meaning of Freud’s fainting spells to the trends of the 1960s including Norman Brown’s and Herbert Marcuse’s notions that ending repression would create a new man and the emergence of psychotherapists as the gurus for individual fulfillment. Along the way, he quotes Goethe, Montaigne, Pascal, Hegel, Marx and many others.
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LibraryThing member cziering
Hard to hear the author's voice he quotes or summarizes so many other people in making his argument.
Very sexist and normative considering the social revolution in the 60s/70s.
Very sexist and normative considering the social revolution in the 60s/70s.
LibraryThing member RossannaB
From part 2 and until the very end, was head over heels with this (unexpectedly) psychoanalytic and existential provocation.
Awards
Pulitzer Prize (Winner — General Non-Fiction — 1974)
Original publication date
1973