Why people recommend it
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning philosophical exploration arguing that human civilization and individual behavior are fundamentally driven by an underlying terror of mortality. Andrew Huberman discussed the demanding yet rewarding nature of the text on the Huberman Lab, and later referenced its insights regarding how human perceptions of time shift near the end of life. On the Lex Fridman Podcast, David Wolpe shared that his father encouraged him to read the work during high school, finding it to be a remarkably profound masterpiece. Brian Greene similarly joined the Lex Fridman Podcast to describe the massive influence Becker's ideas exerted on his worldview. Sheldon Solomon recommended the text across multiple appearances on Modern Wisdom and the Lex Fridman Podcast, citing it alongside Becker's companion volumes as the direct inspiration for his own psychological frameworks. Additionally, Nat Eliason championed the work on Modern Wisdom as a fascinating exploration of how mortality shapes human ambition.
Who recommended it
- Lex Fridman Discussed
- Sheldon Solomon Recommended
- David Wolpe Recommended
- Brian Greene Recommended
- Andrew Huberman Recommended
- Yannis Pappas Discussed
- Nathan Finochio Discussed
- Nat Eliason Recommended
- Matt Walsh Discussed
- Ari Wallach Discussed
- Jonathan Karp Discussed
- David Buss Discussed
- Mark Normand Discussed
- Douglas Lenat Discussed
- Jaron Lanier Discussed
- Risto Miikkulainen Discussed
- Chris Williamson Discussed
- Konstantin Kisin Discussed
- Eugenia Kuyda Discussed
- David Eagleman Discussed
- Simon Sinek Discussed
Lex Fridman — 20 mentions
“Burley brilliant previous guest on this podcast she just released a video where on her bedside was the book denial of death uh by owners Becker which of course you would have on her bedside”
“you know Ernest Becker talked about the in his book denial of death about the fear of death and being an important motivator in our life”
“you know there's uh uh becker with the denial of death like what why do we build castles”
“so ernest becker i'm not sure if you're familiar with the philosopher he wrote the book denial of death”
“Ernest Becker—I'm not sure if you're familiar with the philosopher; he wrote the book 'Denial of Death'—his idea is that one of the core motivations of human beings is our terror of death.”
“so it which is interesting because you do bring up ernest becker in the denial of death in losing the nobel prize book”
“it's book called denal of death”
“allegedly you wrote an essay on death and consciousness in which you write a note certainly the fear of death has been one of the greatest driving forces in the history of thought and in the formation of the character of civilization and yet it is under acknowledged the great book on the subject the denial of death by ernest”
“somebody i've enjoyed reading ernest becker wrote the denial of death”
“And there's also philosopher named ernest becker i don't know if you know that is he wrote denial of death”
“and there's also philosopher named ernest becker i don't know if you know that is he wrote denial of death”
“there's a i don't know if you're familiar there's a philosopher named ernest becker who wrote the denial of death and his whole idea”
“philosopher named ernest becker he wrote a book called denial of death and there's a few psychologists sheldon solomon i think he i just spoke with him on his podcast who developed terror management theory”
“let me say as a side note that ernest becker's book denial of death had a big impact on my thinking about human cognition consciousness and the deep ocean currents of our mind that are behind the surface behaviors we observe”
“you said you picked up becker's book and you know it felt like it was onto something that's the same thing i felt when i picked up becker's book”
“well there's a there's a philosopher ernest becker who wrote a book denial of death”
“well there's a there's a philosopher ernest becker who wrote a book denial of death and just uh uh and warm with the cores”
“have you read the earners Becker's denial of death for example is that Ernest Becker is a philosopher that said that the death that the fear of death is really the primary driver of everything we do”
“for me it was a really interesting moment reading Ernest Becker's denial of death the you know there's this kind of idea that we're all you know the fundamental thing from which most of our human mind Springs is this fear of mortality”
“now that we're running away from a that's a in fact some would argue that the inspiration the incredible ideas you've put out there your TED talk has been seen by millions and millions of people”
Sheldon Solomon — 18 mentions
“cultural anthropologist ernest becker who in the 1970s uh won a pulitzer prize for a book called the denial of death”
“i would say uh that ernest becker's the denial of death or another book called the birth and death of meaning are where we got our ideas from”
“after um weeks before actually he was posthumously awarded the pulitzer prize and non-fiction for his book the denial of death”
“saw some books by a guy i had never heard of ernest becker a cultural anthropologist recently deceased he died in 1974 after weeks before actually he was posthumously awarded the pulitzer prize and non-fiction for his book the denial of death”
“after um weeks before actually he was posthumously sawarded the pulitzer prize and non-fiction for his book the denial of death”
“and the what became escape from evil his wife marie becker finished well be that as it may in it is in the denial of death where becker just says it in the first paragraph i i i believe that the terror of death and the way that human beings respond to it or decline to respond to it is”
“and the what became escape from evil – his wife marie becker finished well be that as it may in it is in the denial of death where becker just says it in the first paragraph i i i believe – that the terror of death and the way that human beings respond to it or decline to respond to”
“and then the denial of death is really more framed from an existential psychodynamic vantage point”
“and – and then the denial of death is really more framed from an existential psychodynamic vantage point”
“here's where we come in where egghead experimental researchers you know becker wrote this book the denial of death and he couldn't get a job”
“you know becker wrote this book the denial of death and he couldn't get a job people just dismissed these ideas as fanciful speculation for which there's no evidence”
“it's like oh we're going to write a book and maybe we'll get to go on tv or something well no that's not the same as to actually think about it in a way that you feel it rather than just think it”
“and so what kierkegaard said is that we need to realize that we've been living a lie of sorts becker calls it a necessary lie and and we have to momentarily dispose of that”
“and at the end of the denial of death becker admits that there's no way to tell while still advocating for what is ultimately a religious stance”
“right and at the end of the denial of death becker admits that there's no way to tell while still advocating for what is ultimately a religious stance”
“he is the shis books are published by the free press and have sold more than any other books sthat they have published”
“and i've put the denial of death out there – um is that his best”
“so the the birth and death of meaning the denial of death and escape from evil are three books of ernest becker's that i believe to all the profound”
David Wolpe — 3 mentions
“Uh, first of all, I would say when I was in high school, I think my father actually encouraged me to read this book. Uh, I read Ernest Becker's Denial of Death, which I found and still find to be one of the most profound works I've ever come across.”
“I read Ernest Becker's Denial of Death, which I found and still find to be one of the most profound works I've ever come across.”
“First of all, I would say when I was in high school, I think my father actually encouraged me to read this book. I read Ernest Becker's 'Denial of Death,' which I found, and still find, to be one of the most profound works I’ve ever come across.”
Brian Greene — 3 mentions
“you know there's this wonderful book that had a great influence in me called the denial of death by ernest becker”
“and then when I was on and it was in my 20s or 30s I read a book by a guy named Ernest Becker called denial of death”
“and then when I was on and it was in my 20s or 30s I read a book by a guy named Ernest Becker called denial of death I'm have you ever heard of this book”
Andrew Huberman — 2 mentions
“Um you know if you read uh the denial of death you learn about this.”
“I happen to be reading it's a hard book a genuinely difficult book but I'm really enjoying it um I'm reading Erns Becker's the denial of death highly recommend it to everyone a Pulitzer after all you don't need my endorsement”
Yannis Pappas — 2 mentions
“i i mean i'm with ernest becker as a philosopher uh he wrote a book called denial of death”
“but the real honest one is to fear it because i i i mean i'm with ernest becker as a philosopher uh he wrote a book called denial of death he says that the like much of the human condition is based in the fear of mortality that we like”
Nathan Finochio — 2 mentions
“I also believe that... there's this book written by a Pulitzer Prize winner. I think his name is Ernest Becker, and the title of it was "The Denial of Death."”
“there's this book written by a Pulitzer Prize winner. I think his name is Ernest Becker, and the title of it was "The Denial of Death." In his book, he's, looking at secularism, and kind of what it's done in modernity,”
Nat Eliason — 2 mentions
“and then last one I'll throw out would be denial of death by Ernest Becker that's another super interesting one”
“and then last one I'll throw out would be denial of death by Ernest Becker”
Matt Walsh — 1 mention
“I mean I read a book there's this um there was a book that was written years ago called Denial of Death. You ever read that?”
Ari Wallach — 1 mention
“1972 Ernest Becker wrote a book which you'll know all about the book based on the title called the denial of death he won the pillar surprise for it”
Jonathan Karp — 1 mention
“the denial of death by Ernest Becker what a great way to start a Wednesday”
David Buss — 1 mention
“it's a fascinating book to read denial of death”
Mark Normand — 1 mention
“Um, it's a book called 'Denial of Death.' This idea that—oh yeah—that—uh, if you don't acknowledge...”
Douglas Lenat — 1 mention
“there's a bunch of philosophers like Ernest Becker who kind of think that this realization of mortality and then fear sometimes they call it Terror of of of mortality is one of the creative forces behind Human Condition”
Jaron Lanier — 1 mention
“even there there's opportunity to discover beauty now. and so it's that's that's the interesting thing about humans is the capacity to discover uh beautiful in the darkest of moments but there's always the dark parts too well i mean it's our situation is structurally difficult we are um actually no it is it's true we perceive socially we depend”
Risto Miikkulainen — 1 mention
“so like there's a i don't know if you're familiar there's a philosopher named ernest becker who wrote the denial of death and his whole idea and there's folks psychologists cognitive scientists that work on terror management theory and they think that one of the special things about humans is that we're able to sort of foresee our death”
Chris Williamson — 1 mention
“do you know who sheldon solomon is okay so he's an expert in earnest back his denial of death he was on the show a couple of weeks ago and he's oh i have that book”
Konstantin Kisin — 1 mention
“well i mean think of anyone who's read ernest becker's denial of death like that is about the fact that everything we do in life is to escape our awareness of death”
Eugenia Kuyda — 1 mention
“there's a philosopher ernest becker who wrote a book um denial of death i'm not sure if you're familiar with any of those folks”
David Eagleman — 1 mention
“you know i i don't know if you're familiar with a philosopher named ernest becker he wrote a book called denial of death”
Simon Sinek — 1 mention
“I mean though I think the book is called denial of death is this constant and now that we're running away from a that's uh in fact some would argue that the inspiration the incredible ideas you've put out there”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- Man's Search for Meaning
- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- The Worm at the Core
- Animal Farm
- Birth and Death of Meaning
- Consciousness Regained
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Ernest Becker explored it. In general do you ponder the value of mortality?”