ErnestBecker

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ErnestBecker(September27,1924March6,1974)wasaJewishAmericanculturalanthropologist
andwriter.Heisnotedforhis1974PulitzerPrizewinningbook,TheDenialofDeath.

Contents
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Earlylife
Academiccareer
Beliefs
Influence
Death
Works
References
Sources
Externallinks

Earlylife

ErnestBecker
Born

September27,1924
Springfield,Massachusetts,U.S.

Died

March6,1974(aged49)
Burnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada

Residence

Burnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada

Ethnicity

Jewish

Almamater SyracuseUniversity
Knownfor

Terrormanagementtheory

Notablework TheDenialofDeath
Spouse(s)

MarieBeckerPos

Awards

PulitzerPrize(1974)

Website

TheErnestBeckerFoundation(htt
p://www.ernestbecker.org/)

BeckerwasborninSpringfield,Massachusetts,toJewishimmigrantparents.Aftercompletingmilitaryservice,inwhichheservedintheinfantryand
helpedtoliberateaNaziconcentrationcamp,heattendedSyracuseUniversityinNewYork.UpongraduationhejoinedtheUSEmbassyinParisasan
administrativeofficer.Inhisearly30s,hereturnedtoSyracuseUniversitytopursuegraduatestudiesinculturalanthropology.HecompletedhisPh.D.in
1960.Thefirstofhisninebooks,Zen:ARationalCritique(1961)wasbasedonhisdoctoraldissertation.AfterSyracuse,hebecameaprofessorat
SimonFraserUniversityinBurnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada.

Academiccareer

AftergraduatingfromSyracuseUniversityin1960,Beckerbeganhiscareerasateachingprofessorandwriter.BeckertaughtatSyracuseUniversityfor
afewyearsbeforeeventuallybeingfiredin1963forsidingwithhismentorThomasSzaszinthepsychotherapydisputes.In1965,Beckeracquireda
positionattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeleyintheanthropologyprogram.However,troubleagainarosebetweenhimandtheadministration,
leadingtohisdeparturefromtheuniversity.Atthetime,thousandsofstudentspetitionedtokeepBeckerattheschoolandofferedtopayhissalary,but
thepetitiondidnotsucceedinretainingBecker.In1967,hetaughtatSanFranciscoStatesDepartmentofPsychologyuntilJanuary1969whenhe
resignedinprotestagainsttheadministrationsstringentpoliciesagainstthestudentdemonstrations.
In1969,BeckerbeganaprofessorshipatSimonFraserUniversityinVancouver,Canada,wherehewouldspendtheremainingyearsofhisacademic
life.Duringthenextfiveyears,hewrotehis1974PulitzerPrizewinningwork,TheDenialofDeath.Additionally,heworkedonthesecondeditionto
TheBirthandDeathofMeaning,andwroteEscapefromEvil.InNovember1972,ErnestBeckerwasdiagnosedwithcancer.
Beckerwasanacademicoutcastinthelastdecadeofhislife.Referringtohisinsistenceontheimportancesymbolismplaysinthehumananimal,he
wrote"Ihavetriedtocorrect...biasbyshowinghowdeeptheatrical"superficialities"reallygo".[1]ItwasonlywiththeawardofthePulitzerPrizein
1974(twomonthsafterhisdeathfromcancerattheageof49)forhis1973book,TheDenialofDeath,thathegainedwiderrecognition.EscapeFrom
Evil(1975)wasintendedasasignificantextensionofthelineofreasoningbeguninDenialofDeath,developingthesocialandculturalimplicationsof
theconceptsexploredintheearlierbook.Althoughthemanuscript'ssecondhalfwasleftunfinishedatthetimeofhisdeath,itwascompletedfromwhat
manuscriptexistedaswellasfromnotesontheunfinishedchapter.

Beliefs
BeckerwasfiredfromhisfirstacademicpositionatUpstateMedicalCollegeinSyracuse,NYbeforeattainingtenure,asaresultofadisputetheschool
hadwith"antipsychiatrist"ThomasSzasz.Forthisreason,Szasz'sviewsaresometimesimputedtoBecker.However,Becker'ssupportofSzaszwas
limitedtotheissueofacademicfreedomwhetherornotSzasz(whohadtenure)hadtherighttoteachhisviewstopsychiatrystudents.Duringthis
earlyperiodBeckerwasformulatinga"fullytransactional"viewofmentalhealththateventuallyformedthebasisforhisbook,"Revolutionin
Psychiatry"(1964).AlthoughSzasziscitedonafewkeypointsinthisbook,Beckerpursuesaverydistinctpath.[2]
Beckereventuallycametothepositionthatpsychologicalinquirycanonlybringustoadistinctthreshold,beyondwhichbeliefsystemsmustbeinvoked
tosatisfythehumanpsyche.Thereachofsuchaperspectiveconsequentlyencompassesscienceandreligion,eventowhatSamKeensuggestsis
Becker'sgreatestachievement,thecreationofthe"EscapefromEvil".[3]InformulatinghistheoriesBeckerdrewontheworkofSrenKierkegaard,
SigmundFreud,WilhelmReich,NormanO.Brown,ErichFromm,Hegel,andespeciallyOttoRank.Beckercametobelievethatindividualcharacteris
essentiallyformedaroundtheprocessofdenyingone'sownmortality,thatthisdenialisanecessarycomponentoffunctioningintheworld,andthatthis
characterarmormasksandobscuresgenuineselfknowledge.Muchoftheevilintheworld,hebelieved,wasaconsequenceofthisneedtodenydeath.

BeckeralsowroteTheBirthandDeathofMeaning,whichgetsitstitlefromtheconceptofhumankindmovingawayfromthesimplemindedapeintoa
worldofsymbolsandillusions,andthendeconstructingthoseillusionsthroughourownevolvingintellect.

Influence
Becker'swork,particularlyasexpressedinhislaterbooks,TheDenialofDeathandEscapefromEvilhavehadasignificantimpactonsocial
psychologyandthepsychologyofreligion.TerrorManagementTheory,animportantresearchprogrammeinsocialpsychologythathasspawnedover
200publishedstudies[4]hasturnedBecker'sviewsontheculturalinfluenceofdeathanxietyintoascientifictheorythathelpstoexplainsuchdiverse
humanphenomenaasselfesteem,prejudice,[5]andreligion.[6]

Death
BeckerdiedonMarch6,1974,fromcoloncancerinBurnaby,BritishColumbia,Canada.Afterhisdeath,theErnestBeckerFoundationwasfounded[7]
devotedtomultidisciplinaryinquiriesintohumanbehavior,withaparticularfocusoncontributingtothereductionofviolenceinhumansociety,using
Becker'sbasicideastosupportresearchandapplicationattheinterfacesofscience,thehumanities,socialactionandreligion.FlightFromDeath(2003)
isadocumentaryfilmdirectedbyPatrickShen,basedonBecker'swork,andpartiallyfundedbytheErnestBeckerFoundation.[8]

Works
Zen:ARationalCritique.NewYork:W.W.Norton,1961.
TheBirthandDeathofMeaning:APerspectiveinPsychiatryandAnthropology.NewYork:FreePressofGlencoe,1962.
RevolutioninPsychiatry:TheNewUnderstandingofMan.NewYork:FreePress,1964.
BeyondAlienation:APhilosophyofEducationfortheCrisisofDemocracy.NewYork:GeorgeBraziller,1967.
TheStructureofEvil:AnEssayontheUnificationoftheScienceofMan.NewYork:GeorgeBraziller,1968.
AngelinArmor:APostFreudianPerspectiveontheNatureofMan.NewYork:GeorgeBraziller,1969.
TheLostScienceofMan.NewYork:GeorgeBrazillier,1971.
TheBirthandDeathofMeaning:AnInterdisciplinaryPerspectiveontheProblemofMan.SecondEdition.NewYork:FreePress,1971.
TheDenialofDeath.NewYork:FreePress,1973.
EscapefromEvil.NewYork:FreePress,1975.

References
1.p.xiv.Becker,Ernest(1962)TheBirthandDeathofMeaning:APerspectiveinPsychiatryandAnthropology.NewYork:TheFreePressofGlencoe

2.cf.D.Liechty(1995)TransferenceandTranscendence
3.https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chromeinstant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF8#q=escape+of+evil+earnest+becker
4."Twodecadesofterrormanagementtheory:ametaanalysisofmortalitysalienceresearch.".PersSocPsycholRev14(2):15595.May2010.
doi:10.1177/1088868309352321.PMID20097885.
5.Greenberg,J.Solomon,S.Pyszczynski,T.(1997)."TerrorManagementTheoryofSelfEsteemandCulturalWorldviews:EmpiricalAssessmentsandConceptual
Refinements".AdvancesinExperimentalSocialPsychology29.p.61.doi:10.1016/S00652601(08)600167.ISBN9780120152292.
6.Jong,J.(2014)."ErnestBecker'sPsychologyofReligionFortyYearsOn:AViewfromSocialCognitivePsychology".Zygon49(4):875.doi:10.1111/zygo.12127.
7.ErnestBeckerFoundationwebsitehttp://www.ernestbecker.org
8.Film'sofficialwebsitehttp://www.flightfromdeath.com

Sources
LiechtyD(ed.)(2005)TheErnestBeckerReader.UniversityofWashingtonPress.ISBN0295984708
LiechtyD(ed.)(2002)DeathandDenial:InterdisciplinaryPerspectivesontheLegacyofErnestBecker.Praeger.ISBN0275974200
LiechtyD(1995)Transference&Transcendence:ErnestBecker'sContributiontoPsychotherapy.Aronson.ISBN1568214340
StreeterJ(2009)HumanNature,HumanEvil,andReligion:ErnestBeckerandChristianTheology.UniversityPressofAmerica.ISBN9780
761843573

Externallinks
TheErnestBeckerFoundation(http://www.ernestbecker.org/)
Wikiquotehasquotations
ErnestBeckerListservArchive(InactiveNowJuly2009)(http://groups.google.com/group/ernestbeckerli
relatedto:ErnestBecker
stservarchive?hl=en&lnk=srg)
EncyclopediaofDeathandDying(http://www.deathreference.com/ABi/BeckerErnest.html)
"Introduction"toTheErnestBeckerReader(2005)byDanielLiechty(http://classes.bus.oregonstate.edu/spring11/ba465h/71/The%20Ernest%2
0Becker%20Reader,%20Introduction.doc)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ernest_Becker&oldid=723882191"
Categories: 1924births 1974deaths JewishAmericansocialscientists Americananthropologists Culturalanthropologists
Americanpsychologists JewishAmericanwriters PulitzerPrizeforGeneralNonFictionwinners Existentialtherapists Antipsychiatry
Deathsfromcolorectalcancer 20thcenturyAmericanwriters
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