Hardie-Bick, James (2012) Transcendence, symbolic immortality and evil. Human Studies, 35 (3). pp. 415-428. ISSN 0163-8548
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Ernest Becker’s work addresses the implications that arise from being aware of our own mortality. Like Sartre, Becker recognises that human beings have the potential to transcend and look beyond their immediate situation, but his work also confronts the darker aspects of human existence that arise from our selfawareness. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of Becker’s work and to show the potential of Becker’s theory of evil to inform a number of contemporary debates in the social sciences. Although Becker’s work directly examines why human beings can act so inhumanly towards one another, his theory is not altogether pessimistic. The paper concludes by arguing that Becker’s theory intended to create new possibilities for living in more creative and humane world.
Item Type: | Article |
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Keywords: | Becker Death Evil Existentialism Sartre Self-awareness Terrorism Transcendence |
Schools and Departments: | School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Sociology |
Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology |
Depositing User: | James Hardie-Bick |
Date Deposited: | 06 Aug 2013 11:59 |
Last Modified: | 06 Aug 2013 11:59 |
URI: | http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/45820 |