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With the truth, one cannot live. To be able to live one needs illusions, not only outer illusions such as art, religion, philosophy, science and love afford, but inner illusions which first condition the outer [i.e., a secure sense of one’s active powers, and of being able to count on the powers of others].

— Ernest Becker The Denial of Death (1973)

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More quotes by Ernest Becker

Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level.

The Denial of Death (1973)

It is fateful and ironic how the lie we need in order to live dooms us to a life that is never really ours.

The Denial of Death (1973)

All religions fall far short of their own ideals.

The Denial of Death (1973)

Better guilt than the terrible burden of freedom and responsibility,; especially when the choice comes too late in life for one to be able to start over again.

The Denial of Death (1973)

The neurotic opts out of life because he is having trouble maintaining his illusions about it, which proves nothing less than that life is possible only with illusions.

The Denial of Death (1973)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Ernest Becker (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.