Ernest Becker
Cultural anthropologist (1924 to 1974) whose The Denial of Death (1973) argued that much of human culture and heroism is a defence against the terror of death.
Ernest Becker did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsSociety itself is a codified hero system, which means that society everywhere is a living myth of the significance of human life, a defiant creation of meaning.
↗The Denial of Death (Free Press, 1975 printing of the 1973 book)archive.org All 3 from this book
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Their wordsBut this argument leaves untouched the fact that the fear of death is indeed a universal in the human condition.
↗The Denial of Death (Free Press, 1975 printing of the 1973 book)archive.org All 3 from this book
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Our reading
Their wordsHeroism is by definition defiance of safety.
↗The Denial of Death (Free Press, 1975 printing of the 1973 book)archive.org All 3 from this book