Reading Guide: Denial of Death, Ernest Becker
Aubyn Fulton

Preface
1. Why does Becker begin his book with Rank's quote "There is already too much truth in the world"? Assuming this quote is accurate, how does Becker justify the publication of his book?
 

2. Explain Becker's argument that "primitive" death celebrations and modern death anxiety each, in their own way, illustrate the universality of the fear of death. In light of his analysis, do you think that "true" christians will experience the fear of death?

Chapter 1
1. According to Becker, what is the difference between a "big lie" and a "vital truth"? What vital truth concerns Becker in this book?

2. Explain how narcissism is related to heroism. How does sibling rivalry illustrate this relationship, and express humanity's tragic destiny?

Chapter 2
1. 1. (Pg. 11-12) What is a hero "first & foremost"? In light of this, discuss the significant of the Christ-story.

2. (Pg. 13-14) How does the "healthy-minded" argument explain the existence of the "anxiety of object-loss"?

3. (Pg. 15-18) How does the "morbidly-minded" argument defend the assumption that death is the "worm at the core" of pretensions to human happiness, in spite of the fact that most people, most of the time, seem not to think about their own death?

4. (Pg. 18-20) In what way is death a "complex symbol" that emerges out of the unique perceptual experiences of the child?

5. (Pg. 20-24) What is the "deeper reason Montagine's peasant is not troubled until the very end"? How might this also explain a Christian's passive acceptance of death, even up to the end?

Chapter 3
1. (Pg. 25-27) Explain the existential paradox that Becker argues lies at the heart of human nature. Comment on this in light of the view of human nature given in Genesis 1 and Psalm 8. Do you think this view of the essence of humanity is compatible with christian theology?
 

2. (Pg. 27-30) What does Becker mean when he says that a child's character is a "Pyrrhic" victory that "hides an inner defeat"? What evidence does he give for this?
 

3. (Pg. 30-32) Explain Becker's description of children as "Philosophers of the human condition".
 

4. (Pg. 32-33) What universal protest underlies the psychological concept of "anality"? How does this explain how Caelia caused Jonathan swift to loose his wits?
 

5. (Pg. 34-37) Summarize the difference between Freud and Becker on the Oedipal conflict. What do you think of Becker's assertion that the child "wants to conquer death by becoming ..... the creator and sustainer of his own life"?
 

6. (Pg. 37-39) Why is the child fundamentally ambivalent toward his mother, and how is this related to the castration complex and penis-envy?
 

7. (Pg. 40-42) What consequences do the "act of sex" have for the existential paradox? How does this make love a key to human sexuality? Compare his idea of love and sex to traditional SDA conceptions.
 

8. (Pg. 43-46) Why are humans "impaled on the horns of sexual problems?

Chapter 4
1. (Pg. 47-51) What is the "Jonah Syndrome", and what are its effects? How is this syndrome responsible for hostility toward psychoanalysis? (see especially p. 51 & 55).

2. (Pg. 51-58) Explain the "born again" experience in terms of Perls' 4th layer. Compare this concept of "born again" with the traditional Christian conception (Paul's Spiritual man versus the god who shits)

3. (Pg. 58-60) Maslow and the New Testament both insist that "the truth shall set you free". But Becker asserts that seeing "the world as it really is is devastating and terrifying". Explain and respond to his arguments. (See also Anderson's poem and Becker's comments pp. 64-66)

4. (Pg. 60-63) How does Schizophrenia demonstrate that human character is a vital life?

Chapter 5
1. (Pg. 67-70) For Kierkegaard, what is the meaning of the Garden of Eden myth? What do you think of this interpretation?

2. (Pg. 70-72) What is the task of Psychology, according to Kierkegaard? What is the difference (in nature and in origin) between "lofty" and "mistaken" "short-upness"?

3. (Pg. 73-75) What does Kierkegaard mean by the term "Philistine"? Is his characterization fair?

4. (Pg. 75-81) What is mental health, according to Kierkegaard? How do schizophrenia and depression each differ from mental health?

5. (Pg. 82-84) Describe Kierkegaard's "introverted" man. Why doesn't he push too far?

6. (Pg. 84-85) Describe Kierkegaard's "self-created" man. Is this a positive or negative personality type?

7. (Pg. 85-92) What happens if we do not lie to ourselves? How can we transcend ourselves?

Chapter 6
1. (Pg. 93-95) In what way is Freud like an Old Testament Prophet? Explain his great prophecy "inter urinas et faeces nascimur". 

2. (Pg. 95-97) Why was Freud so dogmatic about his sexual theory? In what way does Becker agree and disagree with Freud? 

3. (Pg.97-100) According to Rank, what function did Freud's theory of death instincts play? 

4. (Pg. 105-108) Analyze Freud's fight against spirituality in terms of his causa-sui project?
 

5. (Pg. 108-113) According to Becker, how were Freud's fainting spells related to his "father-murder" complex? 

6. (Pg. 113-119) With his characteristically brutal self-analytic honesty, Freud concluded that there was some "unruly homosexual feeing" at the root of his relationship with Fleiss. Explain Becker's evaluation of this conclusion. 

7. (Pg. 120-124) What did Jung mean by calling Freud a "tragic figure"?

Chapter 7
1. (Pg. 127-131) What do transference, hypnosis and evangelical preaching have in common? How might this commonality relate to what your instructor believes is the real "scandal" of Freud's theory of sexuality? 

2. (Pg. 131-134) Becker quotes Freud as asserting that humans "wish to be governed by unrestricted force" and that they "constantly give what is unreal precedence over the real." Why does Freud say this, and do you agree? Apply Freud's analysis to religion. 

3. (Pg. 134-139) In what way might it be possible to argue that the Manson "Family" was not inhumane, but far too human? 

4. (Pg 140-144) What does Becker mean by calling transference a form of fetishism? 

5. (Pg. 144-148) Explain the paradox that the transference object at once helps us tame the terror in the world, yet at the same time becomes an occasion for terror.  

6. (Pg. 148-150) Almost every American of a certain age knows where they were when President Kennedy was murdered. Adults cried in the street when theory heard, and families watched replays of the funeral over and over, and to this day many still believe he was the target of some elaborate conspiracy. Explain this reaction in terms of Becker's analysis of transference. How might this same analysis be used to explain the Easter story? 

7. (Pg. 150-155) What is the impossible thing that humans want, according to Becker? How does this situation inevitably lead to a sense of "badness?"

8. (Pg. 155-158) What is Becker's explanation of Ahab's declaration a "... look into a human eye is ... better than to gaze upon God."?

Chapter 8
1. (PG. 159-161) What is the remarkable achievement of the Christian world view? 

2. (Pg. 161-164) Why are we both drawn to and terrified of Sex? How does this analysis explain the attempt at heroism that lies behind SDA sexual taboos? 

3. (Pg. 164-168) Why is it that God can offer us nourishment and a romantic human partner cannot? How does this explain the pain of Ceilia's shit? 

4. (Pg. 168-171) What is Becker's psychology of women? 

5. (Pg. 171-174) What is the artist, and what is his problem? 

6. (Pg. 174-175) How do Rank and Freud disagree on the issue of surrender?

Chapter 9
1. (Pg. 176-178) Explain the three aspects of neurosis according to Rank. Why do modern humans "slump into analyst's couches" in increasing numbers? 

2. (Pg. 178-180) What do Becker and Rank mean when they say that the "well-adjusted man" is the one who "partializes" or "fetishizes" experience? What is the difference between what we might call the "normal-neurotic" and the "clinical-neurotic"?

3. (Pg. 180-186) What is the difference between the "artist-neurotic", the "adolescent-neurotic" and the clinical-neurotic"? 

4. (Pg. 186-189) Compare the first two verses of Ecclesiastes with the final two verses. Analyze the change in philosophy here in Rankian terms. How do you explain the change?

5. (Pg. 190-195) What characterizes modern life, and how does this lead to the devilish problem of transference and the relitivization of modern psychology? 

6. (Pg. 195-198) In what way is sin and neurosis the same thing? 

7. (Pg. 198-202) What is the ultimate cure for neurosis? What question for a science of mental health does this raise, and how does Becker answer it? 

8. (Pg. 202-207) Why does Becker say that a hidden and intangible God is "all the better"? Explain how you think Becker's philosophy compares with your philosophy of Christianity.
 

Chapter 10-11
1. (Pg. 208-210) What is mental illness and when are human beings most vulnerable to it? 

2. (Pg. 210-214) In Becker's terms, what does "dying daily" mean? 

3. (Pg. 214-217) In what sense does Becker agree with Freud that menopausal depression is a reexperiencing of castration? Who is the castrator? What kind of societies inflict menopausal depression on women? 

4. (Pg. 217-221) Summarize the difference between the genius and the schizophrenic. 

5. (Pg. 221-226) What, for Becker, is the "horror of the female genitals"? Do you think Becker's view here is more or less helpful to an accurate understanding of the psychology of women? 

6. (Pg. 226-230) What are the three roots of self-esteem? 

7. (Pg. 230-234) Explain Becker's theory of homosexuality. 

8. (Pg. 234-244) In what way does the fetish transform reality, yet still represent a failure? 

9. (PG. 244-252) What is, really "Beyond Psychology"? Explain.