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Sep 02, 2017tmundy rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
While this book displayed a profound, yet common sense-based set of claims regarding the causes of our fears, I found that the evidentiary basis for these claims were strongest when he was criticizing the more foundational warrants from Freud and others, yet the opposite rang true when using Rank and Kierkegaard as support. Tagging a critique with, ''Thus I find Rank to be more accurate in his explanation" would be the general line, creating a nauseating repetition of appeals to authority with circular reasoning. As off-putting as this was and eventually leaving me with a lack of support to base his arguments on, this doesn't mean that The Denial of Death is bereft of insight. So much of the pillars of his claims are worth unpacking through personal reflection and have universal application; in fact the only chapter that seems dated is his romp through mental illness - easily dismissed in light of current research. Keep in mind, for those unfamiliar with Becker, that this is written through the psychoanalytical lens and so you may have moments of having to review Freud and Jung, although Becker does give enough exposition to keep the uninitiated along for the ride.