| Description |
xxii, 316 pages ; 22 cm. |
| Note |
Originally published: New York : Free Press, 1973. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographies and index. |
| Contents |
Foreword -- Preface --Introduction: Human nature and the heroic -- PART I : The depth psychology of heroism -- The terror of death -- The recasting of some basic psychoanalytic ideas -- Human character as a vital lie -- The psychoanalyst Kierkegaard -- The problem of Freud's character, Noch Einmal -- PART II: The failures of heroism -- The spell cast by persons, the nexus of unfreedom -- Otto Rank and the closure of psychoanalysis on Kierkegaard -- The present outcome of psychoanalysis -- A general view of mental illness -- PART III: Rerospect and conclusion: The dilemmas of heroism -- Psychology and religion: what is the heroic individual? |
| Summary |
Drawing from religion and the human sciences, particularly psychology after Freud, the author attempts to demonstrate that the fear of death is man's central concern. 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. |
| Subject |
Freud, Sigmund, 1856-1939.
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Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813-1855.
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Rank, Otto, 1884-1939.
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Death -- Psychological aspects.
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Myth -- Psychological aspects.
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Heroes -- Psychology.
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| Added Author |
Keen, Sam, writer of foreword.
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| ISBN |
9780684832401 pbk |
|
0684832402 pbk |
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