The Return of the Gods: A Philosophical/theological Reappraisal of the Writings of Ernest BeckerThis book contains reference to a number of Sontag's earlier articles on Becker. Becker won the Pulitzer Prize for writing The Denial of Death. His psychological/anthropological writings examined human nature and its tendency to religion. He proposed a self-made «hero religion», but his critique of the assumptions of modern social science equally make possible a return to traditional forms of religion: the return of the Gods. |
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accept accomplish achieve aesthetic agreed Alan Watts alienation anthropodicy assumptions banished basic Becker admits Becker feels Becker postulates Becker proposes Becker says Becker thinks Becker wants become burden Chapter Christian claim course create culture cure death Descartes destruction Dewey disillusionment divine eliminate evil Enlightenment Ernest Becker existentialism existentialists experience failure final Freud goal God's Gods return guilt hero hero systems hope human meaning human nature human progress humanity's humankind ideal individual intellectual live Marx Marxist mental health mental illness metaphysical Modern Age Modern World moral never notion offer once optimism ourselves overcome philosophy possible presence problem problem of evil promised psychiatry psychology rational receive the Gods reform release religion religious revolution revolutionary salvation science of humanity scientific scientific control secular Social Sciences society Spinoza symbolic terror theodicy theology theory thought transcendence transform true unified universal utopian vision whole