death denial

──── From a historical perspective, modern humans are orphans ────

When religion has declined and science has replaced it
and cannot provide a satisfactory meaning of life
The author finds a way to reintegrate the fragmented minds of modern people─
Practice facing death, in the throes of fear of death
Let life continue to renew

◇◇ Pulitz Prize-winning work in "Cultural Anthropology" ◇◇
◇◇ A timeless classic ◇◇

The desire for life and the fear of death are inevitable in human nature. It can be said that human religions and philosophies from ancient times to the present are based on the fear and denial of death. We escape death and seek immortality. For this reason, we have developed all kinds of heroism, only hoping to defeat mankind. The contradiction of the duality of "body/self". Because the body is limited, it will eventually turn into food for maggots in this life; but the extension of the self is infinite and may always exist in invisible dimensions. This irreconcilable contradiction and pull is the unique created consciousness of human beings as an animal. It is an extremely special and painful fatalistic consciousness that no one as a human can escape. The so-called heroes, from kings who rule the world, to geniuses in the field of art, from cult leaders, to dictators who launch world wars and massacre millions of people, are all heroes who work hard to realize their goals under this created consciousness. Doctrine, in order to gain immortality; even the most ordinary lovers invest their desire for heroism in the object of their love. Partners become each other's sacred ideal, trying their best to be as heroic as possible within the space, but in the end, the partner can only become a reflection of the other person.

The fear of death has profoundly affected human history, civilization and culture. If people cannot demonstrate heroism, they will easily feel swallowed up by the nothingness of existence and find it difficult to confirm the value of their lives. However, in the end, heroism often leads to disillusionment and in vain brings greater emptiness to mankind.

Most people find a way to practice heroism for themselves by following the rules established by culture. As long as they follow collective actions without thinking and use the illusion given by culture as the answer to life, they can find the meaning of existence and their souls can live in peace. However, such an illusion is a layer of armor, a defense mechanism for survival, which is properly and tightly wrapped around everyone's life. Some people have never seen the true appearance of life outside of armor in their entire lives; others lack defense mechanisms. In their eyes, life is a huge absurdity, and because of this, they are terrified and uneasy all day long, even though they are still alive. In the author's words, the former are well-adjusted normal people, while the latter are contemporary so-called neurotics, or even psychotics.

In this book, Becker uses extremely delicate strokes to dissect human consciousness and unconsciousness layer by layer, from the fear and fetish of children to adults, from the so-called normal to the abnormal. He uses mental illness as a kind of personality to let us Seeing the madness and normality under the theory and philosophy of psychoanalysis, and the fact that without illusions in life, human beings can only go crazy. Finally, he raised a crucial question: How can human beings avoid going crazy since the evolution of society? , but can obtain the meaning of existence? In particular, we need to ask: In the 21st century, when even postmodernism has become a thing of the past, where are the opportunities for human beings to live a life that is not false?

This book is unique among the various theories that discuss human existence. It is an important work that is timeless and extremely insightful. It won the Pulitzer Prize in the United States the year after its publication. The author combs back and forth between the discussions of psychologist Ranke, philosopher Kierkegaard, as well as Freud, Fromm and others, peeling back the layers of human existence dilemma and pointing out the duality of "self/body" How sex brings us great conflict and loss, and possible solutions.