The Denial File
What We Can't Think About—and Why
The People of Israel Live
Dr. Brian Robinson | August 19, 2019
We’ve had a problem these last almost four years, politically, in Britain. For a multiplicity of reasons, a diverse group of people have united in …
For We Are One
Talibah Chiku | July 16, 2019
Many years have passed since I was exposed to and read Becker’s Denial of Death. Unfortunately in this now, I fail to recall those moments …
I, Too, Will Die
Kevin Quiles | July 16, 2019
Tell anyone that the average life expectancy in the US is around 29,200 days and you’ll get a reaction. The reason is simple: the number, …
Existentialism and Death Denial in the Marvel Comics and Cinematic Universe
Beth Schultz | April 18, 2019
“The real world is simply too terrible to admit. It tells man that he is a small trembling animal who will someday decay and die. …
Loving Sympathy and Good Advice: Helping a Bereaved Loved One
Carolina James | February 11, 2019
This is the terror: to have emerged from nothing, to have a name, consciousness of self, deep inner feelings, an excruciating inner yearning for life …
“I Am Not an Animal!”
Michael Mountain & Lori Marino | December 6, 2016
Mortality is connected to the natural, animal side of [human] existence; and so man reaches beyond and away from that side. So much so that he tries to deny it completely.
Beck and Becker
Tom Cathcart | October 29, 2016
Richard Beck is a professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University, a school affiliated with the Christian Churches.
The Power of Social Connections
Bo Bestvina | October 12, 2016
Terror Management Theory (TMT) states humans have an unconscious existential anxiety arising from awareness of morality. In an attempt to buffer ourselves from this anxiety …
Tourist Psychology
Kirby Farrell | June 28, 2016
With time to spare before a flight out of Pisa, I recently looked in on the Piazza dei Miracoli, where the famous tower of Pisa …
Programmed Life
Kirby Farrell | May 28, 2016
One afternoon last year local police pulled me over. When I said hello and asked what was wrong (inspection sticker out of date—duh), the cop …
Hospice: Preventing pain after death
James Salwitz | May 13, 2016
David was 42 when he died from stomach cancer. He spent the last year of life receiving useless chemotherapy and debilitating radiation. More important, David …
Love, Loss, and Heroic Rescue
Kirby Farrell | April 24, 2016
Everyone wants to be rescued. It could be Tarzan plucking you out of the croc’s jaws. Or someone loaning you $5. Praise for some virtue …
Facing Paradox
Larissa Fitzpatrick | April 9, 2016
In the mock travel narrative, Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift chastises humanity for hostile behavior, believing that people capable of reason fail to act reasonably when …
Becker with Real Bullets
Charles Nolan | March 26, 2016
Turn on CNN any night of the week and you’d think you were watching “Escape from Evil, the Movie”. It’s not about theory any more. …
The Cosmic Hero as Mystical Ideal
Victor Carrington | March 14, 2016
A. Review of the Humanistic and Existential Themes Themes in humanistic and existential psychology focus on the essential nature of man, as descriptive rather than …
Buffalo Trump: Closing the frontier again
Kirby Farrell | January 24, 2016
Instead of saying someone died, some folks a century ago might say he “went to the happy hunting ground,” or he’s gone “to join the …
Lame Blame: Forgive the Scapegoat to Forgive Yourself
Kirby Farrell | January 11, 2016
What better way to celebrate the holiday season than to give some thought to scapegoats? We cope with the darkest time of the year by …
Terrorism and the Psychology of Play
Kirby Farrell | December 18, 2015
If you’re not in the line of fire, terrorism can be a stimulant, like caffeine. It’s psychosomatic. Mind and body send alarm signals back and forth, …
The Lebedev Syndrome
Phil Hansten | November 18, 2015
In Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, one of the least appealing characters is a fellow named Lebedev, a man who could pontificate on any topic. I was …