The Ernest Becker Foundation Guide

I've always been interested in what the EBF does. They are amazing at taking incredibly hard-to-understand, complicated things and putting them into words that make sense. Let's be honest: it can be hard to understand and remember these ideas. But this tutorial does something unique: it breaks everything down to its most basic parts.

What stands out to me the most is how they've made something that seems impossible to understand easy to understand. These aren't just ideas that people in academia talk about; they're real frameworks that can change how we think about and deal with the world.

I'm interested in what you think: Do you think it's worth it to think about these ideas? What is it about these notions that makes them worth paying attention to?

For reference

Ernest Becker Foundation. (2023). A communications toolkit for campaigners on death anxiety and societal change. The Ernest Becker Foundation.

About Becker's synthesis:

"Being aware of death makes people invest in our cultural worldviews, which help us feel like we have an important place in a meaningful world." "Feeling that we have contributed to something that will live on after us reduces the anxiety and discomfort that come with knowing that we will one day die" (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 1).

About cultural buffers:

“Culture can give us a sense of immortality that helps us deal with our fear of death and lets us live our lives and be part of society. For individuals who adhere to religious worldviews, a sense of immortality may be perceived literally (afterlife, heaven, reincarnation, etc.), whereas for others, immortality is understood symbolically (leaving a legacy, career advancement, attaining fame or notoriety, creating something of value, procreation, etc.) (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 1).

About the beginnings of TMT:

Three social psychologists—Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, and Sheldon Solomon—came up with Terror Management Theory (TMT) in 1986 to see if Becker's ideas about how people use culture to deal with existential terror were true (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 1).

On the breakdown of worldviews:

“If our cultural buffers are working right, most of the time people should feel pretty safe mentally. But when these cultural buffers are endangered or completely disrupted... worldviews can break down, and that underlying fear starts to come to the surface" (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 1).

About defensive responses:

People mainly seek self-esteem by becoming more entrenched in their worldviews, values, and ideas; more loyal to their own culture and in-group; and more antagonistic toward others (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 2).

On reminders of death in advocacy:

"Challenges to someone's cultural worldview or 'immortality project' can provoke death anxiety, leading to avoidance or, worse, aggression towards the message and the messenger" (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 2).

About persuasive messaging:

"Most advocates know how important it is to send clear, persuasive messages, but does your approach take into account the fear of death?" Decades of TMT research have shown us that when we create messages, we should think about how people react to death dread. This can help stop defensive behaviors (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 3).

On framing for the group:

“Using language that reflects the worldview or core beliefs shared by your audience will make them feel like they are part of a ‘in-group.’ "This makes them feel more connected and less defensive" (Ernest Becker Foundation, 2023, p. 3).