Week 2

Question 1

When was Ernest Becker born?

Answer 1

September 1924

Question 2

What was Ernest Becker’s religious view for most of his life?

Answer 2

Atheist

Question 3

In which war did Ernest Becker serve?

Answer 3

World War II

Question 4

What significant experience did Becker have during World War II?

Answer 4

He took part in liberating a Nazi concentration camp

Question 5

Where did Ernest Becker attend university?

Answer 5

Syracuse University

Question 6

What was Becker’s academic focus?

Answer 6

Anthropology

Question 7

What controversial figure did Becker support at Syracuse University?

Answer 7

Thomas Szasz

Question 8

What led to Becker being dismissed from his position at Syracuse University?

Answer 8

His support for a controversial colleague

Question 9

What was the outcome of Becker’s firing from Syracuse University?

Answer 9

He became an ‘academic Nomad’

Question 10

What was Becker’s teaching style described as?

Answer 10

Well liked and engaging

Question 11

What happened in 1967 regarding Becker’s contract at Berkeley?

Answer 11

Over 2000 students protested his contract not being renewed

Question 12

What position did Becker accept in 1969/70?

Answer 12

Tenure track position at Simon Fraser University

Question 13

When was Becker diagnosed with cancer?

Answer 13

Late 1972

Question 14

What were Becker’s most significant books? List them.

Answer 14

• The Birth and Death of Meaning: A Perspective in Psychiatry and Anthropology, 1962
• The Birth and Death of Meaning: An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Problem of Man, 1962, 1971
• The Denial of Death, 1973
• Escape From Evil, 1975

Question 15

What key question did Becker attempt to answer in his work?

Answer 15

“What makes people act the way they do?”

Question 16

Who was one of Becker’s biggest influences?

Answer 16

Otto Rank

Question 17

What central theme did Otto Rank emphasize in his work?

Answer 17

Self-creation

Question 18

What two instincts did Rank identify in all humans?

Answer 18

• LIFE INSTINCT (towards independence and separation)
• DEATH INSTINCT (to be part of a family, community, humanity)

Question 19

What do humans need to embrace according to Becker’s views influenced by Rank?

Answer 19

• Individuality
• Relationships with others

Question 20

What is the social relationship between the individual and society according to Becker?

Answer 20

The social world is a part of the individual and vice versa

Question 21

What philosophical movement influenced Becker’s work?

Answer 21

Existentialism

Question 22

Who are some key philosophers associated with existentialism?

Answer 22

• Kierkegaard
• Nietzsche
• Sartre

Question 23

What does the phrase ‘Existence precedes essence’ mean in existentialism?

Answer 23

What we do is more important than what we are supposed to be

Question 24

What is a key concept of existentialism regarding freedom?

Answer 24

“Man is condemned to be free”

Question 25

What is the essence of Becker's legacy regarding the nature of the world?

Answer 25

The world is a terrifying place

Question 26

What is the basic motivation for human behavior according to Becker?

Answer 26

The need to control our basic anxiety and deny the terror of death

Question 27

What do humans conspire to keep unconscious according to Becker?

Answer 27

The terror of death

Question 28

What paradox does Becker identify in heroic projects?

Answer 28

They bring more evil into the world

Question 29

What theory did Becker contribute to regarding human behavior?

Answer 29

Terror Management Theory