Open AccessBook
The Denial of Death
TLDR
The Denial of Death as mentioned in this paper is an answer to the "why" of human existence, which 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.Abstract:
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.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
The effects of age and death awareness on intentions for healthy behaviours
TL;DR: It is revealed that regardless of age, participants engaged in proximal defenses immediately following a death reminder by distancing themselves from death via greater healthy intentions, and after a period of delay, participants exhibited a reversal of this pattern, indicating lower intention to engage in healthy behaviours in the mortality condition compared to control.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Role of Childhood Relationships With Older Adults in Reducing Risk-Taking by Young Adults
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated whether young adults' relationships with older adults during childhood predicted their current risk-taking, and found that those who experienced close, positive childhood relationships with adults would be less likely to hold negative attitudes toward aging and be more likely to engage in risk taking than would others.
Journal ArticleDOI
The impact of mortality anxiety on attitude toward product innovation
TL;DR: This paper showed that consumers are more likely to experience state nostalgia when faced with mortality anxiety, a temporary backward-looking mindset, in contrast with the forward-looking mode necessary to favor product innovation adoption.
Journal ArticleDOI
Toward a theory of helpfulness for the elderly bereaved: an invitation to a new life.
TL;DR: A dialectical theory of helpfulness for the elderly bereaved is generated based on responses of 30 participants concerning the advice they would give others who have lost a spouse and how others were helpful to them.
Journal ArticleDOI
The avoidance of human suffering.
TL;DR: The tendency of human beings to avoid direct, personal contact with Miss Emma, a community member who is suffering is explored in this paper, and the realization of this tendency can provide opportunities for ongoing medical education to help students, residents and faculty members recognize their discomfort about suffering and learn to address it appropriately.