Why do we fear things?

[AngelSephy]

I just saw a commercial for a documentary called, "Primal Fear" on History International.

So I was wondering what everyone's view was on human fear. Why do you think we fear certain things, even if it doesn't threaten our survival.

For me? I guess my thought would be that desire for self preservation. Regardless of something being threatening or not, that thought will still invade the human mind as being a potential threat.

What are your thoughts?

[Baal Hadad]

I just saw a commercial for a documentary called, "Primal Fear" on History International.

So I was wondering what everyone's view was on human fear. Why do you think we fear certain things, even if it doesn't threaten our survival.

For me? I guess my thought would be that desire for self preservation. Regardless of something being threatening or not, that thought will still invade the human mind as being a potential threat.

What are your thoughts?

I think human fears are rooted in a lack of control, or the loss (or threat thereof) of control.  It's all about control, somehow.  Otherwise, why should we fear the unknown?

[rabid_fox]

Because prolapse is fúcking AWFUL, Jesus Christ, why are SO MANY PEOPLE not terrified by it?

[Brownie]

I just saw a commercial for a documentary called, "Primal Fear" on History International.

So I was wondering what everyone's view was on human fear. Why do you think we fear certain things, even if it doesn't threaten our survival.

For me? I guess my thought would be that desire for self preservation. Regardless of something being threatening or not, that thought will still invade the human mind as being a potential threat.

What are your thoughts?

I think human fears are rooted in a lack of control, or the loss (or threat thereof) of control.  It's all about control, somehow.  Otherwise, why should we fear the unknown?

Both of these are true in my case.

I hate not having control, whether that control be direct or indirect.
That and I hold self-preservation above all else.

So I'm rather stereotypical, Sue me!

[Valynth]

I just saw a commercial for a documentary called, "Primal Fear" on History International.

So I was wondering what everyone's view was on human fear. Why do you think we fear certain things, even if it doesn't threaten our survival.

For me? I guess my thought would be that desire for self preservation. Regardless of something being threatening or not, that thought will still invade the human mind as being a potential threat.

What are your thoughts?

I think human fears are rooted in a lack of control, or the loss (or threat thereof) of control.  It's all about control, somehow.  Otherwise, why should we fear the unknown?

It's not so much the lack of control as the lack of knowledge.  After all, we lack any sort of natural armor(hides, scales, etc.) or natural weapons (claws, stingers, poison, etc.) the only true defense we have left is our mind and knowledge allows us to, essentially, bring that mental arsenal to bear effectively.  Without a human knowing about the things around him, he is, for the most part, disarmed as far as effective ability goes and he is reduced to solely what he has with him and in the case of prehistoric man, that was VERY little.

And becoming more effective has been the guiding pulse for human development, starting as being better hunters(a few scatter hunters to hunting parties), better gathers (gathers into farmers), better defenses (naked to clothed) and so forth.  Unfortunately, unlike most of the other animals on earth, we don't have enough innate physical abilities to hold fast until evolution occurs to make us better at these things.  So humanity, rather than waiting for the hardware to develop, began developing software that would take the practically worthless lump of flesh that is an ordinary human and turn it into the most effective species on the planet at damn near everything.

As such, it is only natural that, when faced with a situation in which we have no knowledge, we become very frightened.

[Baal Hadad]

It's not so much the lack of control as the lack of knowledge.  After all, we lack any sort of natural armor(hides, scales, etc.) or natural weapons (claws, stingers, poison, etc.) the only true defense we have left is our mind and knowledge allows us to, essentially, bring that mental arsenal to bear effectively.  Without a human knowing about the things around him, he is, for the most part, disarmed as far as effective ability goes and he is reduced to solely what he has with him and in the case of prehistoric man, that was VERY little.

And becoming more effective has been the guiding pulse for human development, starting as being better hunters(a few scatter hunters to hunting parties), better gathers (gathers into farmers), better defenses (naked to clothed) and so forth.  Unfortunately, unlike most of the other animals on earth, we don't have enough innate physical abilities to hold fast until evolution occurs to make us better at these things.  So humanity, rather than waiting for the hardware to develop, began developing software that would take the practically worthless lump of flesh that is an ordinary human and turn it into the most effective species on the planet at damn near everything.

As such, it is only natural that, when faced with a situation in which we have no knowledge, we become very frightened.

But that doesn't explain why we're afraid of things we DO know about.  Nor does it explain why the unknown should be frightening anyway--if there's something I don't know anything about, how can I have any opinion of it whatever, fear or otherwise?

We're afraid because we realize that, beyond our own defenses, mental and otherwise, we're at the mercy of our environments (human and otherwise), and so we realize that unless we're on our guard and are able to fight back (or unless we get lucky and don't get attacked) bad things could happen to us.  Thus what is it that everyone seeks?  Is it knowledge?  No, not for its own sake--it's CONTROL.  We seek to CONTROL our environment so that we have less reason to fear it.  When you're in control, all you have to fear is losing that control.

[Valynth]

But that doesn't explain why we're afraid of things we DO know about.  Nor does it explain why the unknown should be frightening anyway--if there's something I don't know anything about, how can I have any opinion of it whatever, fear or otherwise?

We're afraid because we realize that, beyond our own defenses, mental and otherwise, we're at the mercy of our environments (human and otherwise), and so we realize that unless we're on our guard and are able to fight back (or unless we get lucky and don't get attacked) bad things could happen to us.  Thus what is it that everyone seeks?  Is it knowledge?  No, not for its own sake--it's CONTROL.  We seek to CONTROL our environment so that we have less reason to fear it.  When you're in control, all you have to fear is losing that control.

Have we ever feared the grass beneath our feet?  Or the trees?  The Nile?  No, and this was long before we had any sort of control over them.  This is because we KNEW something, namely that it wasn't going to leap up and kill us.

Does a hunter bring down game by controlling what it does?  No, he does so by watching it and gathering knowledge on it's movements, habits, and weaknesses.  As such, he is not afraid of it, but a human who has never seen anything like the animal would be very scared because they DON'T know these things, but most importantly amoung them, wether or not this animal will try to kill them.

And we don't fear our environment.  Do we fear spring, summer, fall, or winter?  No, because we know the cycles they come in and can prepare for them accordingly.

Do we fear a tribe in the Amazon jungle?  No, because we KNOW they can't harm us.

Do we fear Iran and N.Korea?  yes, because we don't fully KNOW what they're doing.

Lack of control is NOTHING compared to a lack of knowledge.  If a human knows about his environment, he can adjust to it and thus cease to fear it.  Indeed, it was this lack of knowledge that caused most of the British American colonies to fail, though they had more ability to control than the natives.

The lack of knowledge is, by far, the most threatening thing to the human being.  Without knowledge, he can't adjust and like any animal that can't adjust, he dies out.

[Baal Hadad]

But that doesn't explain why we're afraid of things we DO know about.  Nor does it explain why the unknown should be frightening anyway--if there's something I don't know anything about, how can I have any opinion of it whatever, fear or otherwise?

We're afraid because we realize that, beyond our own defenses, mental and otherwise, we're at the mercy of our environments (human and otherwise), and so we realize that unless we're on our guard and are able to fight back (or unless we get lucky and don't get attacked) bad things could happen to us.  Thus what is it that everyone seeks?  Is it knowledge?  No, not for its own sake--it's CONTROL.  We seek to CONTROL our environment so that we have less reason to fear it.  When you're in control, all you have to fear is losing that control.

Have we ever feared the grass beneath our feet?  Or the trees?  The Nile?  No, and this was long before we had any sort of control over them.  This is because we KNEW something, namely that it wasn't going to leap up and kill us.

Does a hunter bring down game by controlling what it does?  No, he does so by watching it and gathering knowledge on it's movements, habits, and weaknesses.  As such, he is not afraid of it, but a human who has never seen anything like the animal would be very scared because they DON'T know these things, but most importantly amoung them, wether or not this animal will try to kill them.

And we don't fear our environment.  Do we fear spring, summer, fall, or winter?  No, because we know the cycles they come in and can prepare for them accordingly.

Do we fear a tribe in the Amazon jungle?  No, because we KNOW they can't harm us.

Do we fear Iran and N.Korea?  yes, because we don't fully KNOW what they're doing.

Lack of control is NOTHING compared to a lack of knowledge.  If a human knows about his environment, he can adjust to it and thus cease to fear it.  Indeed, it was this lack of knowledge that caused most of the British American colonies to fail, though they had more ability to control than the natives.

The lack of knowledge is, by far, the most threatening thing to the human being.  Without knowledge, he can't adjust and like any animal that can't adjust, he dies out.

You didn't answer my question.  Why are we afraid of things we DO know about?  Like we know that the ticking bomb is going to explode and either kill us or hurt us very painfully--does that mean we're NOT afraid of it?

It seems to me that knowledge INDUCES fear in at least some cases--haven't you heard the expression, "Once bitten, twice shy?"

[Valynth]

You didn't answer my question.  Why are we afraid of things we DO know about?  Like we know that the ticking bomb is going to explode and either kill us or hurt us very painfully--does that mean we're NOT afraid of it?

THAT is not fear of unknown, that is fear of death.

Though it could be the the fact that we don't know what happens to our minds after death that induces our fear response.

It seems to me that knowledge INDUCES fear in at least some cases--haven't you heard the expression, "Once bitten, twice shy?"

And that phrase represents caution more than fear.

[Baal Hadad]

You didn't answer my question.  Why are we afraid of things we DO know about?  Like we know that the ticking bomb is going to explode and either kill us or hurt us very painfully--does that mean we're NOT afraid of it?

THAT is not fear of unknown, that is fear of death.

Though it could be the the fact that we don't know what happens to our minds after death that induces our fear response.

It seems to me that knowledge INDUCES fear in at least some cases--haven't you heard the expression, "Once bitten, twice shy?"

And that phrase represents caution more than fear.

IS it fear of death?  As you say, we don't know what happens after death, so for all we know we may not feel anything, or we might go to a paradise--but even if we KNEW that, I'd still be afraid of that ticking bomb.  Besides, what if you WEREN'T killed?  What if the bomb was going to explode and you KNEW you wouldn't be killed but WOULD be badly MAIMED?  Would you not still be afraid?

In the film Paths of Glory there's a great talk on that subject, pointing out that what makes one afraid seems not so much to be the possibility of dying as the METHOD of it, because if it were death itself that was frightening, what difference would it make HOW you died?  Plus, fear of death as such is impractical anyway, since everyone who lives is going to die.  The soldiers in that film say it's PAIN rather than death that truly frightens, which ties into my point.  If you're afraid of pain, that's NOT fear of the unknown because you know something would hurt, and you know what pain is.

And why do we exercise such caution, if not out of fear the same thing will happen again?  Granted, maybe not in all cases, but at least some of them.

[techmaster-glitch]

Um, if I might step in for just a brief moment? It sounds like two of you are... debating... over wether or not fear comes from lack of control or lack of knowledge...

*steps in*
Who says they're mutually exclusive? We fear what we have no knowledge of because it inherently means we cannot control it, and we fear what we cannot control because it inherently means there's something about it we have no knowledge of. Throw in a healthy dose of instictual self-preservation reactions (misguided or not) and that sounds like a fairly adequate explanation for most of human behavior to me...
*runs away before anyone can shoot me*

[Alondro]

This is why we vores are wierd.  We have no natural fear!  We think furries being swallowed whole by huge predators is AWESOME! 

I suggest a crossing of the wires from the amygdala is the culprit.   

I personally don't like heights, not to an insane level (I climb trees and ropes and so forth), but I don't like to be in a place where in an instant I can fall and go splat on the ground.  I have to be totally assured that the place is reasonably unlikely to cause that.

And I was afraid for a long time of getting shots and needles, but that's because my pain reception is extremely high and it hurt like hell.  I had to train myself over years to block it consciously.  Now I can give blood regularly... though the muscles in the arm getting the needle twitch and spasm like crazy all around it until it's out.

[Lysander]

I could see knowledge playing a big part in what we fear, but there are fears that really don't seem to have a basis on anything. Some people who have claustrophobia know their fear means nothing, is nothing, but still small spaces could make them loose all control due to shock and fear. Some fears are supposedly determined by things that happen to us as kids that may or may not traumatize us for life. Then there are the subconscious phobias that don't seem to be based on anything: Fear of success, fear of friends, fear of failure, ect. I know someone who learned much about those kinds of fears and learned she has a severe fear of failure. She takes care of a family and tries to make sure everything is clean in her crazy house out of fear of failing to clean the house, but by doing so she never got one room completely clean and therefore failed anyway. It was not until she realized this fear that she just cleaned one room at a time whenever possible, therefore no longer failing in a single room. She still has this fear but it hardly ever causes anymore problems. 

I don't really know what I fear, but I am sure there is something. I think I may have a subconscious fear of not being normal which is weird in itself because I find things classified "normal" to be boring and I prefer things that are crazy or just generally special. A reason I think I have this fear is because whenever I am complimented for anything I pass it off as something not too special and/or give reasons for why I was able to do this thing that usually make no sense, and if someone says I didn't do something right or not well I give some crappy explanation for why I could have done better if whatever was or wasn't available or something stupid like that. I'm trying to disconnect myself from this idiotic fear by simply accepting compliments or even if there is a good reason I fail at something I restrain myself from giving that reason.

[Baal Hadad]

Um, if I might step in for just a brief moment? It sounds like two of you are... debating... over wether or not fear comes from lack of control or lack of knowledge...

*steps in*
Who says they're mutually exclusive? We fear what we have no knowledge of because it inherently means we cannot control it, and we fear what we cannot control because it inherently means there's something about it we have no knowledge of. Throw in a healthy dose of instictual self-preservation reactions (misguided or not) and that sounds like a fairly adequate explanation for most of human behavior to me...
*runs away before anyone can shoot me*

You make a good point, although it still doesn't address that bomb scenario I mentioned before--what exactly do you have no knowledge of there?

But yeah, I didn't mean to imply that they were mutually exclusive, just that "fear of the unknown" did not tell the whole story.

[Dekari]

You make a good point, although it still doesn't address that bomb scenario I mentioned before--what exactly do you have no knowledge of there?

If you really want to get into it, you must first explain and define what "fear" really is.  But you can't do that, you can't give a reasonable explanation or definition of what fear is because fear itself can be unreasonable and unfounded, and yet at the same time it can also be reasonable.  Fear ultimately needs no reason.  Fear basically exists because it has to.  You can't just say we fear the unknown because we also fear the known.  You can't just say we fear death because we also fear life.  Fear prevents all living and sentient things from doing things but is also makes us do things we normally would not.

Going on the reasonable side of fear and getting to your scenario, yes you would still fear the bomb going off because you know you should fear it.  Even if you "know" you are not going to die from it going off, you still fear it because you "know" you should.  There are many things that we fear even though there is a very slim chance we will encounter them only because we "know" we should fear them.



I could go on and on with this topic, but I just don't have the time right now.  So if anyone wants to continue off my points, go ahead.