|
For other uses, see Fear (disambiguation).Fear is a basic emotional sensation and response system ("feeling") initiated by an aversion to some perceived risk or threat. Fear also can be described as a feeling of extreme dislike towards certain conditions, objects, people, or situations such as: fear of darkness, fear of ghosts, etc. Personal fear varies extremely in degree from mild caution to extreme phobia and paranoia. Fears may be a factor within a larger social network, wherin personal fears are synergetically compounded as mass hysteria. Fear may underlie some phenomena of behavior modification, although these phenomena can be explained without adducing fear as a factor in them. Furthermore, application of aversive stimuli is also often ineffective in producing change in the behaviour intended to be changed. Fearing objects or contexts can be learned; in animals this is being studied as fear conditioning, which depends on the emotional circuitry of the brain. It is one of the basic emotions and is linked heavily to the amygdala neurons. Some philosophers have considered fear to be a useless emotion; other thinkers note the usefulness of fear as a warning of potentially unpleasant situations or consequences. Still others consider that fear is the fuel that feeds the ego's (as in "separating/judgmental agent") engine. Note that "fear" in the sense of "God Fearing" means "To regard with reverence and awe". Fear can also be understood to be the imagined separation from God. (OED)
Degrees and terms Fear can be described by different terms in accordance with its relative degrees. Fear covers a number of terms - worry, anxiety, terror, fright, paranoia, horror, panic (social and personal), persecution complex and dread. Causes of fear The causes of fear can vary to a surprising degree; fear is to a certain extent a "cultural artifact" (Clifford Geertz). In 19th century Britain, one of the biggest fears was of dying poor, unmourned, unremembered, and possibly ending up on an anatomist's dissection table. By the early twentieth century, this had given way to a fear of being buried alive, to the extent that those who could afford it would make all sorts of arrangements to ensure this would be avoided (e.g. glass lids for observation, and breathing pipes for survival until rescued). During the Second World War, fear of death by bombing was much less prevalent than during World War I, even though many more bombs fell; air wardens would complain of civilians continuing to gossip on street corners instead of taking shelter. Similarly, when cars were new in the early 1900's, dislike of them from the public pushed laws requiring a guard with a red flag to walk in front of it to warn the public of traffic. Moral considerations Fear may be a consideration in determining the wrongness of acts, in some views. Fear can be distinguished into serious fear (metus gravis) and trifling fear (metus levis). The first is such as grows out of the discernment of some formidable impending peril: if this be really, and without qualification, of large proportions, then the fear is said to be absolutely great; otherwise it is only relatively so, as for instance, when account is taken of the greater susceptibility of certain classes of persons, such as children. Trifling fear is that which arises from being confronted with harm of inconsiderable dimensions, or, at any rate of whose happening there is only a slender likelihood. Actions done under stress of fear, unless of course it be so intense as to have dethroned reason, are accounted the legitimate progeny of the human will, or are, as the theologians say, simply voluntary, and therefore imputable. The reason is obvious, such acts lack neither adequate advertence nor sufficient consent, even though the latter be elicited only to avoid a greater evil or one conceived to be greater. In asmuch, however, as they are accompanied by a more or less vehement repugnance, they are said to be in a limited and partial sense involuntary. Legal considerations Since fear diminishes freedom of action, contracts entered into through fear may be judged invalid; similarly fear sometimes excuses from the application of the law in a particular case; it also excuses from the penalty attached to an act contrary to the law. The cause of fear is found in oneself or in a natural cause (intrinsic fear) or it is found in another person (extrinsic fear). Fear may be grave, such for instance as would influence a steadfast man, or it may be slight, such as would affect a person of weak will. In order that fear may be considered grave certain conditions are requisite: the fear must be grave in itself, and not merely in the estimation of the person fearing; it must be based on a reasonable foundation; the threats must be possible of execution; the execution of the threats must be inevitable. Fear, again, is either just or unjust, according to the justness or otherwise of the reasons which lead to the use of fear as a compelling force. Reverential fear is that which may exist between Superiors and their subjects. Grave fear diminishes willpower but cannot be said to totally take it away, except in some very exceptional cases. Slight fear (metus levis) is not considered even to diminish the will power, hence the legal expression "Foolish fear is not a just excuse". Expressions Facial In fear, one's eyes widen (out of anticipation for what will happen next), and the pupils dilate to take in more light, the upper lip rises. The brows draw together and the lips stretch horizontally. The brow or other parts of the body sweat profusely in order to keep the body cool as it flees, the muscles tighten in preparation for combat and the senses are sharpened in order to take in vaster quantities of information. Hands usually as a reaction open and cover face. Quotes Further reading | ||||||||
|
| |||||||||
 |
|
| |