Ernest Becker
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Ernest Becker (September 27, 1924 – March 6, 1974) was an American cultural anthropologist and author of the 1974
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning book, ''
The Denial of Death ''The Denial of Death'' is a 1973 book by American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker. The author builds on the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Sigmund Freud, Norman O. Brown, and Otto Rank to discuss the psychological and philosophical implicati ...
''.


Biography


Early life

Ernest Becker was born in
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, to Jewish immigrant parents. Serving in the
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he would help liberate a
Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
. Once completing his military service, Becker attended
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
in New York. Upon graduation he joined the U.S. Embassy in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
as an administrative officer. In his early 30s, he returned to Syracuse University to pursue graduate studies in cultural anthropology, and would complete his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in 1960. The first of his nine books, ''Zen: A Rational Critique'' (1961) was based on his doctoral dissertation.


Professional career

After graduating from
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
in 1960, Becker began “the short 14-year period of his professional career” as a professor and writer. Initially, he taught anthropology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Upstate Medical College in Syracuse, New York, but was summarily fired, along with other non-tenured professors, for supporting tenured Professor Thomas Szasz in a dispute with the administration over academic freedom. After a year in Italy, Becker was hired back at Syracuse University, this time in the School of Education. In 1965, Becker acquired a lecturer position at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in the anthropology program. However, trouble again arose between Becker and the administration, leading to his departure from the university. At the time, thousands of students petitioned to keep Becker at the school and offered to pay his salary, but the petition did not succeed in retaining Becker. In 1967, he taught at San Francisco State's Department of Psychology until January 1969 when he resigned in protest against the administration's stringent policies against student demonstrations. In 1969, Becker began a professorship at Simon Fraser University in
Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
, British Columbia, where he would spend the remaining years of his academic life. During the next five years, he wrote his 1974
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning work, ''
The Denial of Death ''The Denial of Death'' is a 1973 book by American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker. The author builds on the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Sigmund Freud, Norman O. Brown, and Otto Rank to discuss the psychological and philosophical implicati ...
''. Additionally, he worked on the second edition to ''The Birth and Death of Meaning,'' and wrote ''Escape from Evil''. Becker's insistence on interdisciplinary work, along with the fact that students flocked to his lectures, which were marked by a high level of theatricality, did not endear him to many of his colleagues. Referring to his insistence on the importance symbolism plays in the human animal, he wrote, "I have tried to correct... bias by showing how deep theatrical 'superficialities' really go."


Death

In November 1972, Ernest Becker was diagnosed with
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
. Two years later, on 6 March 1974, he would pass away at the age of 49 in Burnaby, British Columbia. Shortly before his death, he participated in a series of interviews with Sam Keen for ''
Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. It began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The ''Psychology Today'' website features therapy and health professionals direct ...
''.


Ideas and concepts

As was mentioned above, Becker was fired from his first academic position at Upstate Medical College in Syracuse, NY before attaining tenure, as a result of a dispute the school had with "anti-psychiatrist" Thomas Szasz. For this reason, Szasz's views are sometimes imputed to Becker. However, Becker's support of Szasz was limited to the issue of academic freedom—that is, whether or not Szasz (who had tenure) had the right to teach his views to psychiatry students. During the final decade of his relatively short life, Becker used the ideas and concepts from many different writers and thinkers to write his books and teach his classes. To list just a few of these thinkers who helped formulate many of his theories, many point to how Becker draws on the work of
Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...
,
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
,
Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( , ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian Doctor of Medicine, doctor of medicine and a psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, along with being a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author ...
,
Norman O. Brown Norman Oliver Brown (September 25, 1913 – October 2, 2002) was an American scholar, writer, and social philosopher. Beginning as a classical scholar, his later work branched into wide-ranging, erudite, and intellectually sophisticated cons ...
,
Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and settled in the U ...
,
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
, and especially Otto Rank.


''The Birth and Death of Meaning''

''The Birth and Death of Meaning'', written in 1962 and revised in 1971, was “Becker’s first attempt to explain the human condition.” It takes its title from the concept of mankind progressing from simple-minded ape to a world of symbols and illusions, and then deconstructing those illusions through our own evolving intellect.


''Revolution in Psychiatry''

During this early period Becker was formulating a "fully transactional" view of mental health that eventually formed the basis for his book, ''Revolution in Psychiatry'' (1964). Although Szasz is cited on a few key points in this book, Becker pursues a very distinct path.


''The Denial of Death''

In his 1973 book ''
The Denial of Death ''The Denial of Death'' is a 1973 book by American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker. The author builds on the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Sigmund Freud, Norman O. Brown, and Otto Rank to discuss the psychological and philosophical implicati ...
'', Becker came to believe that an individual’s character is essentially formed around the process of denying one's own mortality, that this denial is a necessary component of functioning in the world, and that this character-armor masks and obscures genuine self-knowledge. Much of the evil in the world, he believed, was a consequence of this need to deny death.


''Escape From Evil''

Becker eventually came to the position that psychological inquiry can only bring us to a distinct threshold, beyond which belief systems must be invoked to satisfy the human psyche. The reach of such a perspective consequently encompasses
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
, even to what Sam Keen suggests is Becker's greatest achievement, the creation of the ''Escape from Evil'', posthumously published in 1975.Becker, Ernest. 9751985. ''Escape from Evil''. New York: Free Press. .


Influence and legacy

Two months following his death, Becker was
awarded An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...
a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for his book, ''The Denial of Death'' (1973), posthumously gaining him wider recognition. ''Escape From Evil'' (1975) was intended as a significant extension of the line of reasoning begun in ''The Denial of Death'', developing the social and cultural implications of the concepts explored in the earlier book. Although the manuscript's second half was left unfinished at the time of his death, it was completed from the manuscript that existed as well as from notes on the unfinished chapter. Becker's work, particularly as expressed in his later books, ''The Denial of Death'' and ''Escape from Evil'', have had a significant impact on social psychology and the
psychology of religion Psychology of religion consists of the application of List of psychological research methods, psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of Religion, religious traditions as well as to both religious and Irreligion, ...
. '' Terror management theory'', an important research programme in
social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...
that has spawned over 200 published studies has turned Becker's views on the cultural influence of death anxiety into a scientific theory that helps to explain such diverse human phenomena as self-esteem, prejudice, and religion. After his death, the Ernest Becker Foundation was founded, focused on multidisciplinary inquiries into human behavior. The foundation would focus on reducing violence in human society, using Becker's basic ideas to support research and application at the interfaces of science, the humanities, social action, and religion. ''
Flight From Death ''Flight from Death'' (2003) is a documentary film that investigates the relationship of human violence to fear of death, as related to subconscious influences. The film describes death anxiety as a possible root cause of many human behaviors on a ...
'' (2003) is a
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
directed by
Patrick Shen Patrick Shen (born 1975) is an American writer and director and producer. Shen is the founder of Transcendental Media. Documentaries Shen directed the Emmy-nominated documentary ''We Served With Pride: The Chinese American Experience in WWII'', ...
, based on Becker's work, and partially funded by the Ernest Becker Foundation.


Works


Books

*1961. ''Zen: A Rational Critique''. New York:
W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton Ant ...
. *1962. ''The Birth and Death of Meaning: An Interdisciplinary Perspective in Psychiatry and Anthropology'' (1st ed.). New York:
The Free Press of Glencoe Free Press was an American independent book publisher that later became an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It was one of the best-known publishers specializing in serious nonfiction, including path-breaking sociology books of the 1950s, 1960s and 19 ...
. *1964. ''Revolution in Psychiatry: The New Understanding of Man''. New York: Free Press. *1967. ''Beyond Alienation: A Philosophy of Education for the Crisis of Democracy''. New York:
George Braziller George Braziller (February 12, 1916 – March 16, 2017) was an American book publisher and the founder of George Braziller, Inc., a firm known for its literary and artistic books and its publication of foreign authors. Life and career Braziller ...
. *1968. ''The Structure of Evil: An Essay on the Unification of the Science of Man''. New York: George Braziller. *1969. ''Angel in Armor: A Post-Freudian Perspective on the Nature of Man''. New York: George Braziller. **This book is a collection of shorter essays, lectures, and reviews written between 1962 and 1968. *1971. ''The Lost Science of Man''. New York: George Braziller. *1971. ''The Birth and Death of Meaning: An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Problem of Man'' (2nd ed.). New York: Free Press. *1973. ''
The Denial of Death ''The Denial of Death'' is a 1973 book by American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker. The author builds on the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Sigmund Freud, Norman O. Brown, and Otto Rank to discuss the psychological and philosophical implicati ...
''. New York: Free Press. *1975. ''Escape from Evil''. New York: Free Press.


Essays

* 1974. “The spectrum of loneliness.” ''
Humanitas ''Humanitas'' is a Latin noun meaning human nature, civilization, and kindness. It has uses in the Enlightenment, which are discussed below. Classical origins of term The Latin word ''humanitas'' corresponded to the Greek concepts of '' philanthr ...
'' 10:237–46. * 1974. “Toward the merger of animal and human studies.” ''
Philosophy of the Social Sciences The philosophy of social science is the study of the logic, methods, and foundations of social sciences (psychology, cultural anthropology, sociology, etc...). Philosophers of social science are concerned with the differences and similarities be ...
'' 4:235–54.


References


Further reading


Books on Becker

* Evans, Ron. 1992. ''The Creative Myth and the Cosmic Hero: Text and Context in Ernest Becker's 'The Denial of Death. New York: Peter Lang. * Kagen, Michael Alan. 1994. ''Educating Heroes: The Implications of Ernest Becker's Depth Psychology of Education for Philosophy of Education''. Durango, CO: Hollowbrook Publishing. * Kenel, Sally A. 1988. ''Mortal Gods: Ernest Becker and Fundamental Theology''. Lanham, MD:
University Press of America University Press of America is an academic publisher based in the United States. Part of the independent Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the ...
. * Leifer, Ronald, 1976. “Becker, Ernest.” In '' The Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences'' 18. New York: Macmillan/Free Press. * Liechty, Daniel, ed. 2005. ''The Ernest Becker Reader''.
University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universit ...
. * — 2002. ''Death and Denial: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Legacy of Ernest Becker''. Praeger. . * Martin, Stephen W. 1997. ''Decomposing Modernity: Ernest Becker's Images of Humanity at the End of an Age''. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. * Streeter, J. 2009. ''Human Nature, Human Evil, and Religion: Ernest Becker and Christian Theology''. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. .


Essays on Becker

* Bates, Harvey. 1977. “Letters from Ernest.” '' Christian Century'' 9:217–27. * * Keen, Sam. 1974. “A Conversation with Ernest Becker.” ''
Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. It began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The ''Psychology Today'' website features therapy and health professionals direct ...
'' (April):71–80. * Liechty, Daniel. 2004
998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

An Ernest Becker Bibliography
" ''Zygon'' 33(1):87–90. . * Martin, Jack.
Ernest Becker at Simon Fraser University (1969-1974)
'' Journal of Humanistic Psychology'' 54(1):66–112. .


External links


The Ernest Becker Foundation

Ernest Becker Listserv Archive (Inactive Now July 2009)Finding aid to the Ernest Becker papers at Columbia University



"Introduction" to ''The Ernest Becker Reader'' (2005) by Daniel Liechty

What Drives People To Behave The Way They Do? (an introductory guide about Ernest Becker's ideas)

Why Do People Need Self-Esteem? A Theoretical and Empirical Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Ernest 1924 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American psychologists Anti-psychiatry Cultural anthropologists Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Deaths from colorectal cancer Existential therapists Jewish American social scientists Jewish American writers Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction winners 20th-century American anthropologists 20th-century American Jews