A book that gives deep insight into the natural of humanity.

I'm interested in almost everything. That's why I know a little about lots of things a lot about very little. When I saw this book at the library I realized I know virtually nothing about Freudian and post-Freudian psychoanalysis so I thought this would be a good overview. This was written in the 1970s, so it seemed a little dated, but it won the Pulitzer Prize and is continually being re-published as a classic so I assume some people still like it.
The basis of Becker's argument is that Freud was right about many things, but he was incorrect in believing everyone's problems are based on sex. They are instead, according to Becker, based on our terror of dying.
3% - interesting facts, thought-provoking ideas, and reasonable theories
62% - hogwash
35% - stuff I didn't understand but strongly suspect to be hogwash

Expected more...

Lots of insights in the first chapters.
Chapter 8 was the best, afterwards it goes full bullshit.

The author criticizes Freud for the wrong reasons, and then praises psychoanalysis for other wrong reasons and interpretations which are totally bogus.

I purposefully skipped the chapters on neurosis and mental illness because I already know the bullshit psychoanalysts say about it so...

…
I think I’m over my psychoanalysis phase.

“Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level.”
- Ernest Becker

This 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 all try to suppress and forget. A great book for all fans of psychology and the depths of the human mind.

It was fascinating to read about the works of psychoanalysis in a neutral light and understand how the landscape of psycho-analytics developed in the past two centuries, especially with regards to death, religion and heroism. Also the various aspects of the works of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Otto Rank (mostly), Alfred Adler, Søren Kierkegaard etc. regarding the psychology behind people's denial of death.

“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one is food for worms.”
- Ernest Becker

Our minds work in such a way that we believe there has to be some purpose to our existence, there has to be more than just staying alive. It is how we deal with the world. I think one would find it really difficult to disagree against the thought that we are all driven to be something than more than just a mere human being. Again the tension of mortality and our distinctive place in the world starts to matter most when our actions and reactions to these questions start to affect other people.

Sorry, I'm terrible at describing why books are really awesome. I'd recommend reading this book, it's really eye opening in the ways we are trapped in our existence. We have to do the best we can, not deny our mortality, and live bravely; all while ultimately knowing that even our must someday die.

Every answer is all lies.

“We are gods with anuses.”
- Ernest Becker

Há 3 anos, toda vez que eu venho com um perrengue existencial, meu marido me aponta esse livro e eu o ignoro.

Que erro.

Demorei para ler porque tive que ruminar as ideias, é um livro de ideias densas e fortes, mas de leitura fácil.

Desde que comecei a lê-lo penso em tudo nos seus termos, como se seus conceitos e ideias tivessem se assentado em mim.

I think I might have swallowed this whole had I read it when it was first published, but I have drifted quite a long way from the psychoanalytic tradition since then. It was certainly an interesting read, and although some parts were really unconvincing , there were a couple of times when something said actually challenged my ideas, so it was well worth the time.

Psychoanalysis is nonsense

I hadn't heard of Denial of Death until I saw the documentary Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality. After having read the book now it's no surprise to me how such an insightful book could inspire such an amazing piece of work. I recommend seeing the movie first, then follow that by reading Denial of Death, and then Becker's follow up to that, Escape from Evil. That's what I did and I haven't been the same since

I just finished the book today. It took me a while to finish it, but a book of this grade takes time to read. A very good book about why some of us are what we are. I guess religion is our way of dealing with the finality of death. I highly recommend it to everybody.

I write only because I am concerned that some of the other reviews are going to scare away those with strong religious beliefs or at least a genuine interest in life after death. No one could be more deeply steeped in the study of paranormal phenomena than myself, yet this book ranks among the most profound and wise I have ever read. Even if you have little background in psychology or philosophy, you will recognize the deep truth of what Becker has to say. If you haven't read this book, you don't understand how the world works -- it is that important.

One of my best reads. It was a struggle to read through. Definitely read again types.

I'm not going to lie and pretend like I understood all of this book or fully grasped all of the philosophical points in the book, because I didn't. The things I did understand were really thought provoking, though, and that's what I loved about it. I don't think I could even do this book close to what it deserves through a book review. So I'm not even going to try. What I will say is that I do plan to keep reading it, to try and understand it better, quite often. Also plan on looking up some explanations of the parts I could tell were important but couldn't grasp.

What I'm really trying to say here is that you don't have to be extremely intelligent to enjoy this book, or even to get many of his points.

The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker tries to essentially explore the human condition and its associated 'problems' by buttressing some new insights on the central concepts of psychoanalysis as popularly enunciated by the likes of Freud, Otto, Jung and Kierkegaard among others (Yes, Kierkegaard too if one is to believe this book). The book's fundamental premise is to view man as an animal primarily tortured by the tension of duality inherent within him in the form of a battle between the infinite symbol (mind) and the finite physicality (body). It then tries to fuse the dynamics of this anguished interplay to muse on the nature and consequences of terror of death and life, heroism, repression, transference, character, ego, hypnosis, love, anxiety, culture, creativity, neurosis, religion etc. In the end, it critiques the nature of psychology and science itself in relation to civilization by declining to give any definitive solution to man's problems.
Personally, I would not view this book as a highly original work but as an elegant synthesis and brief yet structured presentation of preexisting psychoanalytical ideas by the previous psychologists and philosophers with a few personal notions sprinkled and substantiated here and there. THIS informal feature makes this book highly readable for a beginner in psychology like me and helps better connect this work to my own personal life and Boy! It did help me to unravel my psyche to myself to such a great extent. I now look forward to reading more psychoanalytical work in this vein and would confidently recommend this book to anybody primarily seeking to better understand how their own anxieties arise or a first text in a path to later delve more deeply into the ideas of psychoanalysis.