18 Books like Escape from Evil

The Denial of Death

by Ernest Becker • 1973

Every culture, religion, and heroic ambition is built on a single buried fear: your own death.

4.05

16k+

🧠 Existential Psychology 💀 Death Anxiety 📚 Existentialism

The Denial of Death 94%

Every culture, religion, and heroic ambition is built on a single buried fear: your own death.

by Ernest Becker 1973

4.05

16k+ ratings

🧠 Existential Psychology 💀 Death Anxiety 📚 Existentialism

The Worm at the Core

by Sheldon Solomon • 2015

Your culture, your self-esteem, your gods: all of it is armor against the fear of death.

4.10

2k+

🧠 Existential Psychology 💀 Fear Of Death 🪦 Death Denial

The Worm at the Core 94%

Your culture, your self-esteem, your gods: all of it is armor against the fear of death.

by Sheldon Solomon 2015

4.10

2k+ ratings

🧠 Existential Psychology 💀 Fear Of Death 🪦 Death Denial

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches

by Marvin Harris • 1974

Cow worship, pork bans, witch hunts: each solved a practical problem no one admitted existed.

3.92

5k+

🍖 Food Taboos 🌿 Cultural Ecology 💰 Economic Anthropology

Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches 93%

Cow worship, pork bans, witch hunts: each solved a practical problem no one admitted existed.

by Marvin Harris 1974

3.92

5k+ ratings

🍖 Food Taboos 🌿 Cultural Ecology 💰 Economic Anthropology

The Philosophy of Money

by Georg Simmel • 1900

Before coins, money was already an idea: that value is a relationship, not a substance.

4.04

426

💡 Economic Philosophy 🪙 Sociology Of Money 📜 Monetary History

The Philosophy of Money 93%

Before coins, money was already an idea: that value is a relationship, not a substance.

by Georg Simmel 1900

4.04

426 ratings

💡 Economic Philosophy 🪙 Sociology Of Money 📜 Monetary History

The New Black

by Darian Leader • 2008

What if depression is stalled mourning? The dead we cannot release may be the real cause.

4.05

713

🛋️ Psychoanalytic Theory 🖤 Mourning And Loss 💭 Freudian Thought

The New Black 93%

What if depression is stalled mourning? The dead we cannot release may be the real cause.

by Darian Leader 2008

4.05

713 ratings

🛋️ Psychoanalytic Theory 🖤 Mourning And Loss 💭 Freudian Thought

Heavens on Earth

by Michael Shermer • 2018

The scientific case against the afterlife, immortality, and utopia, and why the real heaven is here.

3.88

626

🧠 Near-Death Experiences 💀 Mortality Salience 🔬 Scientific Skepticism

Heavens on Earth 93%

The scientific case against the afterlife, immortality, and utopia, and why the real heaven is here.

by Michael Shermer 2018

3.88

626 ratings

🧠 Near-Death Experiences 💀 Mortality Salience 🔬 Scientific Skepticism

The Thirst for Annihilation

by Nick Land • 1992

A cosmos built on waste, not production. The sun burns without return; the human animal follows.

3.97

616

🧠 Continental Philosophy 💸 Libidinal Economy 💀 Death Drive

The Thirst for Annihilation 93%

A cosmos built on waste, not production. The sun burns without return; the human animal follows.

by Nick Land 1992

3.97

616 ratings

🧠 Continental Philosophy 💸 Libidinal Economy 💀 Death Drive

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times

by Stephen R. Covey • 2009

The West built its politics on a mistake: that humans are naturally selfish animals.

3.72

186

🏛️ Political Anthropology 🌍 Western Critique 🧠 Human Nature Debate

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times Summary

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times 92%

The West built its politics on a mistake: that humans are naturally selfish animals.

by Stephen R. Covey 2009

3.72

186 ratings

🏛️ Political Anthropology 🌍 Western Critique 🧠 Human Nature Debate

Come of Age

by Stephen Jenkinson • 2018

More old people than ever. Fewer elders than ever. The connection is a cultural indictment.

4.25

173

🪦 Death And Dying 🔍 Cultural Criticism ⏳ Limits And Endings

Come of Age 92%

More old people than ever. Fewer elders than ever. The connection is a cultural indictment.

by Stephen Jenkinson 2018

4.25

173 ratings

🪦 Death And Dying 🔍 Cultural Criticism ⏳ Limits And Endings

The Weirdest People in the World

by Joseph Henrich • 2020

How a medieval church's war on cousin marriage made the West individualistic, analytical, and rich.

4.13

4k+

🧠 Cultural Psychology 🦴 Evolutionary Anthropology 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kinship And Social Structure

The Weirdest People in the World Summary

The Weirdest People in the World 92%

How a medieval church's war on cousin marriage made the West individualistic, analytical, and rich.

by Joseph Henrich 2020

4.13

4k+ ratings

🧠 Cultural Psychology 🦴 Evolutionary Anthropology 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kinship And Social Structure

The Sublime Object of Ideology

by Slavoj Žižek • 1989

We are cynical, not naive. The ideological illusion operates through our actions, not our beliefs.

4.07

6k+

🛠️ Marxist Theory 🪑 Lacanian Psychoanalysis 🎭 Ideology Critique

The Sublime Object of Ideology 92%

We are cynical, not naive. The ideological illusion operates through our actions, not our beliefs.

by Slavoj Žižek 1989

4.07

6k+ ratings

🛠️ Marxist Theory 🪑 Lacanian Psychoanalysis 🎭 Ideology Critique

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race

by Thomas Ligotti • 2011

Nature's worst mistake was making you self-aware. The only logical response is to stop reproducing.

4.01

10k+

🖤 Philosophical Pessimism 🚫 Antinatalism 🧠 Consciousness Studies

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race Summary

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race 92%

Nature's worst mistake was making you self-aware. The only logical response is to stop reproducing.

by Thomas Ligotti 2011

4.01

10k+ ratings

🖤 Philosophical Pessimism 🚫 Antinatalism 🧠 Consciousness Studies

The Sane Society

by Erich Fromm • 1955

Entire societies can be mentally ill and call it normal. A psychoanalyst delivers the diagnosis.

4.24

3k+

🏛️ Critical Theory 🛋️ Humanistic Psychoanalysis 📚 Frankfurt School

The Sane Society 92%

Entire societies can be mentally ill and call it normal. A psychoanalyst delivers the diagnosis.

by Erich Fromm 1955

4.24

3k+ ratings

🏛️ Critical Theory 🛋️ Humanistic Psychoanalysis 📚 Frankfurt School

Buddhism

by Damien Keown • 1996

Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?

3.74

3k+

📖 Introductory Buddhism ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy 🛕 Theravada Buddhism

Buddhism 92%

Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?

by Damien Keown 1996

3.74

3k+ ratings

📖 Introductory Buddhism ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy 🛕 Theravada Buddhism

To Have or To Be?

by Erich Fromm • 1976

Two modes of existence divide us: one treats everything as property; the other, as living encounter.

4.18

14k+

🧠 Humanistic Psychology 📖 Critical Theory 🏛️ Frankfurt School

To Have or To Be? 92%

Two modes of existence divide us: one treats everything as property; the other, as living encounter.

by Erich Fromm 1976

4.18

14k+ ratings

🧠 Humanistic Psychology 📖 Critical Theory 🏛️ Frankfurt School

Minds Make Societies

by Pascal Boyer • 2018

Nations clash, gods multiply, and families splinter for reasons your conscious mind never sees.

3.90

397

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🏛️ Cognitive Anthropology 🔄 Cultural Evolution

Minds Make Societies 92%

Nations clash, gods multiply, and families splinter for reasons your conscious mind never sees.

by Pascal Boyer 2018

3.90

397 ratings

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🏛️ Cognitive Anthropology 🔄 Cultural Evolution

Civilized to Death

by Christopher Ryan • 2018

Agriculture made us sicker, more unequal, and less free. The hunter-gatherer way holds the clues.

4.12

5k+

🏹 Hunter-Gatherer Studies 🚫 Myth Of Progress ⚠️ Civilization'S Costs

Civilized to Death 92%

Agriculture made us sicker, more unequal, and less free. The hunter-gatherer way holds the clues.

by Christopher Ryan 2018

4.12

5k+ ratings

🏹 Hunter-Gatherer Studies 🚫 Myth Of Progress ⚠️ Civilization'S Costs

A Short History of Myth

by Karen Armstrong • 2005

We traded myth for reason and got neither meaning nor a world we can bear.

3.69

7k+

📚 Comparative Mythology 📜 Religious History ✨ Sacred Experience

A Short History of Myth 92%

We traded myth for reason and got neither meaning nor a world we can bear.

by Karen Armstrong 2005

3.69

7k+ ratings

📚 Comparative Mythology 📜 Religious History ✨ Sacred Experience

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