Thoughts on "'Death' at Fifty: Ernest Becker and the Immortality Project" by Jose A Bufill.
Article Thoughts; Philosophy; 20th Century
Jose A. Bufill, “‘Dearth’ at Fifty: Ernest Becker and the Immortality Project,” Public Discourse (Oct. 4, 2023), https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2023/10/91327/.
This will be the first of what will probably be many thoughts on Public Discourse articles. A note first on Public Discourse. I have been a subscriber of Public Discourse since my undergraduate and have gained a lot of insight from the scholars writing for it. The official publication of the Witherspoon Institute, a Princeton based think tank founded in the early 2000s. While labeled “conservative” the institute inhabits a realm that in many ways bridges the gap between modern conservative and liberal. Traditionalist might more accurately describe the institute, which in today’s increasingly polarized climate generally aligned with the political Right.1 Still, the Witherspoon’s journal offers articles that are less abrasive and contentious than many other think tank organs. Its moderation and civility are a breath of freshness in a world raging with harsh words and anger.
Bufill’s study centers on Ernest Becker’s Denial of Death (1973), a philosophical exploration of the role of death in shaping the human mind. I found the review insightful. I had never heard of Becker and the discussion surrounding the larger historiographical literature was fascinating. Bufill does an excellent job reviewing and discussing the main ideas that Becker grappled with his entire life, namely that humans innately struggle with death and the implications of mortality.
As a historian, I think the role of death has been far less emphasized, including in my own writings, than is warranted. Men’s mortality is something all human beings can connect with. What might historical studies look like if they more fully interrogated the role of death and a human being’s legacy in the lives of individuals? How does the explosion of death during times of disease and war impact the cycle of human thought? For example, an article I am currently attempting to prepare for publication discusses the role of ideology in the enlistment of hundreds of French and English Canadians during the American Revolution in the Continental army. How might the rising numbers of deaths impacted moral? How might it have pushed the survivors who fought alongside the armies of the new United States to continue their fight? I am reminded of Lin Manuel Miranda’s iconic lyrics from Hamilton:
How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive?
How do you write like you need it to survive?
How do you write ev’ry second you’re alive?
Ev’ry second you’re alive? Ev’ry second you’re alive?
Finally, I think the underlying point that inherently men are pursuing immortality in one shape or another fits well within my theological framework. Believing that mankind existed prior to mortality as spirit children of God and that this life is only a temporary stop on our souls’ eternal journey infuses my interpretation of this article. Of course men seek for immortality, it is ingrained into who we are as children of God. Mortality is only a blip in a longer and quite extraordinary journey. Though mankind passes through a veil of forgetfulness, our memories of pre-mortal life forgotten, the human spirit still senses that there must be something more than a cheap and rather quick mortal life.
This article was a short and interesting philosophical review that made me pause and think. I recommend readers examine the text and think about how death shapes your actions and beliefs.
Rob Swanson
“Witherspoon Institute,” Wikipedia (2023), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witherspoon_Institute. I suggest glancing over the talk section of the Wikipedia page as this often gives an idea to the backroom wars of Wikipedia and the cultural influences of the majority of editors on the sight.