In this thread I plan to present a few essays I’ve written on fear, but it is open for discussion on any aspect of fear that triggers interest.
FEAR AND ANXIETY
Fear is commonly a physical response to a known danger. It is an emotion which elicits a physiologic, autonomic nervous system fight or flight response within the body. A known danger will more likely result in the use of intellect, logic and skill to overcome it. Anxiety, on the other hand, elicits all of the same physiologic components of fear, but since the source or cause of the perceived danger is unknown, the use of intellect, logic and skill cannot be used effectively to deal with it. In brief, fear is an emotion caused by a known danger whereas anxiety is an emotion caused by an unknown danger. The unknown danger causing anxiety can be real or imagined, but the cause is generally unclear, which results in worry, apprehension and suspicion as well as a desire to control it.
Ghost fear was probably really ghost anxiety because it was something which could not be easily identified or explained logically, hence magical fetishes, rites and sacrifices developed with hopes that they would work against the unknown and unseen danger. Occasionally these practices did work which served to reinforce the behavior. When it comes to fear of a known danger, however, humans often used their intellect, logic and skills to overcome it. Known dangers to early man came from wildlife and the environment, but mostly from other humans. Hence, we see throughout history more and more sophisticated weaponry and methods of warfare being devised as well as the building of fortifications and the development of various strategies for survival.
Anxiety is not always a bad thing; it is capable of producing a change in behavior, but is more likely to result in thoughtless panic and worry. A person in this state is more likely to exhibit illogical, irrational and magical thinking. It is much harder to use intellect and logic to overcome emotion which has no identifiable focus. It seems to me that religion has often been the result of mankind’s anxiety. Relieving that anxiety with revelation into reality provides the mind with a focus for rational thought resulting in less reliance on magic and ritual. However, revelation seems to have done little to prevent extremes of mysticism. Perhaps that too will come, with time.
Severe anxiety is paralyzing and painful, which according to the UB, can be useful in finding solutions. I see evidence of anxiety working to evolve and improve society. Some of mankind’s anxieties due to unknown causes were: diseases, food shortages, natural disasters and weather. Primitive man attempted to work magic to ward off these anxieties until science, and sometimes revelation (genius), worked to teach him the source of his anxiety. Once the source was known, man could then use reason to control or correct the danger. Today the causes of disease are being discovered thus improving the quality and length of life. Ways have been found to feed the masses despite droughts and famines. There are safer buildings capable of withstanding natural disasters and methods of prediction and warning are being developed. However, I do think that people are still in the anxiety mode about weather, being driven by emotion, myth and magical thinking about the planet. Time will tell if this anxiety evolves into something useful. Nevertheless, I believe we are evolving on many levels and there is definite progress. I think we will continue to suffer from fear and anxiety until we evolve all the way to Light and Life, but it is inevitable that our degree of anxiety will diminish substantially as we become more knowledgable about ourselves and our world, as well as more knowledgable about God and each other.
951:03 Anxiety was a natural state of the savage mind. When men and women fall victims to excessive anxiety, they are simply reverting to the natural estate of their far-distant ancestors; and when anxiety becomes actually painful, it inhibits activity and unfailingly institutes evolutionary changes and biologic adaptations. Pain and suffering are essential to progressive evolution.
