Preface

Introduction

Part One: A Psychological View of Mental Health (1960-1963)

1. Anthropology, Psychoanalysis, and Mental Illness

--Socialization, Command of Performance, and Mental Illness (1962)

--Anthropological Notes on the Concept of Aggression (1962)

--Psychotherapeutic Observation on the Zen Discipline (1960)

--Private Versus Public Logic (1961)

--Toward a Comprehensive Theory of Depression (1962)

--Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia (1962)

2. The Enduring Value in Freud

--A Note on Freud's Primal Horde Theory (1961)

--The Significance of Freudian Psychology (1963)

--The Validity of 'Oedipus Complex' as an Abstract Scientific Construct (1964)

3. Personality, Communication, and Education for Democracy

--Personality Development in the Modern World (1963)

--Social Science and Psychiatry (1963)

Part Two: Toward an Integrated Social Science of Behavior (1964-1971)

4. Alienation

--The Great Historical Convergence on the Problem of Alienation (1964)

--A Theory of Alienation as a Philosophy of Education (1967)

5. Plea for Social Scientific Synthesis

--A Design for Ethical Man (1968)

--The Ethical Society (1968)

--The Vision of the Science of Man (1968)

--The Enlightenment Paradox (1968)

--The Second Great Step in Human Evolution (1968)

6. The End of Optimism

--The Perspective of the Present Time (1971)

--The Road Back to the Science of Man (1971)

Part Three: Denial of Death as Interpretive Organizing Principle (1971-1975)

7. Meaning and Self-Esteem

--Self-Esteem (1971)

--Culture and Personality (1971)

--Social Encounters (1971)

--Biological Imperialism (1972)

--Toward the Merger of Animal and Human Studies (1974)

8. Death and Denial

--The Terror of Death (1973)

--Human Character as a Vital Lie (1973)

--The Nature of Social Evil (1975-posthumous)

9. Beyond Psychology

--A Conversation with Ernest Becker (1974)

--The Spectrum of Loneliness (1974)

Bibliography

--Ernest Becker's Writings

--Important Secondary Works

Subject Index

Name Index