The Denial of Death

Ernest Becker

Nov 2007 · Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, The Denial of Death explores how people and cultures around the world have reacted to the concept of death from celebrated cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker.

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 decades after its writing.

Ratings and reviews

Racism, homophobia, mental Illness, Arab Israel conflict and Ernest Becker lays out a comprehensive theory that says that the awareness of mortality in humans creates anxiety. That paired with a need to suppress that anxiety motivates us humans to do some pretty stupid things.

The best book I have ever read' hands down.

Simply The most important book it's kind

About the author

After receiving a PhD in cultural anthropology from Syracuse University, Dr. Ernest Becker (1924–1974) taught at the University of California at Berkeley, San Francisco State College, and Simon Fraser University, Canada. He is survived by his wife, Marie, and a foundation that bears his name—The Ernest Becker Foundation.