Should we be afraid now?

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

I’ve written about fear before and would like to revisit it here for two reasons. The first is that it is a fascinating mechanism that is ingrained in us due to self-preservation, which aids survival. The second is that we are amidst a coronavirus pandemic and market crash that is sending people into nothing short of panic. I was sitting around my apartment today and realized that I was slipping into the same mindset. Therefore, I wanted to learn about what was going on inside my head. Based on what I was experiencing, I came up with several questions that I thought would help me to understand better the thoughts and emotions that were coming up for me. These are what I settled on and will deconstruct each in its own section:

What is fear? What causes it? When do we feel fear? When is it detrimental? How can we overcome it? How can we use it to our benefit?

To begin with, let us look at some of the psychology behind fear. I will then invoke the aid of some of the most significant philosophers to analyze this emotion and hopefully allow us to check it to an acceptable size instead of the overblown monster that it has become. 

We live in a mentally constructed world. This idea is to say that we don’t experience the world directly. We live through the lense of the mental construction of our surroundings. This approach allows our brains to make assumptions and not take in so much data. This mentally constructed model is essential when we are talking about fear. We will revisit this a bit later.

Next, we should realize that we fear everything until we have learned that there is no threat in our surrounding area. 

“...human beings do not learn to fear new objects or situations, or even really “learn” to fear something that previously appeared safe, when it manifests a dangerous property. Fear is the a priori position, the natural response to everything for which no structure of behavioral adaptation has been designed and inculcated. Fear is the innate reaction to everything that has not been rendered predictable, as a consequence of successful, creative exploratory behavior undertaken in its presence, at some time in the past.” Pg. 55, Maps of Meaning: The architecture of belief

If we at once perceive a threat, then we flee and the novel experience remains rooted in fear. This scenario has been shown with mice. If you put mice in a cage and allow them to explore, after some time, they learn that the region has nothing that will cause them harm. If, after some time, a cat is introduced, then the mice flea. That area that was once safe, is no longer. It takes a long time for the mice to slowly explore the region and regain confidence that the domain is secure.

“Fear is not conditioned; security is unlearned, in the presence of particular things (“stimuli”) or contexts, as a consequence of violation of explicit or implicit presupposition. ...fear is not secondary, not learned – security is secondary, learned. Everything not explored is tainted, a priori, with apprehension. Any thing or situation that undermines the foundations of the familiar and secure is therefore to be feared.” Pg. 56 , Maps of Meaning: The architecture of belief

We, humans, operate much the same as mice. When we come into a new area or have a novel experience, we are afraid. Once we learn that the threat of harm to us is not imminent, then we calm down and can function well. If, however, the risk is detected as imminent, our emotions are dysregulated, and we flee. When we flee, it leaves this territory unexplored and hence in a state of provoking fear when we think about it or have to face a similar or the same scenario at a later date. 

This spot in the discussion is the point where the mentally constructed world comes into play again. What we perceive as imminent very well may not be because we have modeled the world and do not experience it directly. This notion is compounded by the fact that we are terrible natural statisticians. This notion is to say, if something is improbable to occur, in our minds, we think it is inevitable. In the case when something is very likely to happen, then in our minds, we believe it is almost impossible. This concept suggests that we are not very good at understanding when a threat is imminent, especially when we cannot perceive it (see it) directly.

So then, we are walking around with mental models of the world. We are taking in all sorts of data from various sources. When these sources are misconstruing facts, then we input the wrong data into our model, and therefore we become afraid when it is not beneficial to be in such a state. It is challenging to get accurate data on many issues happening in the world, especially novel situations such as a COVID-19 outbreak. So here the question becomes, what is fear, and what do we do about scenarios that could cause us to panic?

What is fear?

“Fear may be defined as a pain or disturbance due to a mental picture of some destructive or painful evil in the future. Of destructive or painful evils only; for there are some evils, e.g. wickedness or stupidity, the prospect of which does not frighten us: I mean only such as amount to great pains or losses. And even these only if they appear not remote but so near as to be imminent: we do not fear things that are a very long way off: for instance, we all know we shall die, but we are not troubled thereby, because death is not close at hand. From this definition it will follow that fear is caused by whatever we feel has great power of destroying or of harming us in ways that tend to cause us great pain. Hence the very indications of such things are terrible, making us feel that the terrible thing itself is close at hand; the approach of what is terrible is just what we mean by ‘danger.’” - Rhetoric, By Aristotle, Book 2, Part 5

It seems like fear is our response to a perceived and imminent danger. This reaction is an integral part of our survival. If our ancestors were hunting in the woods, and a bush rustled, and they did not respond in fear, then we might not be here. Perhaps the grass moved because of the wind. However, if the wind was accused as the culprit, and it was not, then that human became a meal. It is for this reason that this article is NOT suggesting that we should become fearless. Instead, the argument is that we should scrutinize with sound reason, logic, and fact what it is that we are experiencing and how imminent and severe the external threats are to ourselves and our loved ones. To get our heads around this emotional response, let’s examine some of the causes. 

What causes fear?

The underlying theme herein seems to be that we fear what it is that makes us feel powerless. If there is a person or system that has the power we feel can be exerted on us, especially in the case to cause harm, then we feel fear. This notion is exacerbated by our mental model that if someone can inflict damage upon us, then we think that they most likely will, whether this is true or not. We also tend to fear the unknown. This idea seems to be the worst-case scenario. Here we allow the mental model of our world to inflate to such a degree that it’s much like a runaway train. We start fearing things that have no basis in reality because we cannot physically locate the threat. 

“Of those we have wronged, and of our enemies or rivals, it is not the passionate and outspoken whom we have to fear, but the quiet, dissembling, unscrupulous; since we never know when they are upon us, we can never be sure they are at a safe distance. All terrible things are more terrible if they give us no chance of retrieving a blunder either no chance at all, or only one that depends on our enemies and not ourselves. Those things are also worse which we cannot, or cannot easily, help. Speaking generally, anything causes us to feel fear that when it happens to, or threatens, others cause us to feel pity.” - Rhetoric, By Aristotle, Book 2, Part 5

This quote seems to drive home the underlying reason for the extreme amount of fear circulating about COVID-19. This virus is the “quiet, dissembling, unscrupulous” one of our enemies. We can’t know where it is due to its physical size and its ability to be asymptomatic for such a time. It is easy for us to feel that the threat is imminent because we cannot see if it is near. 

When do we feel fear?

We feel fear when we think harm is imminent and the resulting pain severe. This concept seems to be exacerbated by the part mentioned at the beginning about our ability to conduct statistical analyses in our head. It’s easy for us to feel a large amount of fear when the threat or danger is not probable and vice versa. 

“If fear is associated with the expectation that something destructive will happen to us, plainly nobody will be afraid who believes nothing can happen to him; we shall not fear things that we believe cannot happen to us, nor people who we believe cannot inflict them upon us; nor shall we be afraid at times when we think ourselves safe from them. It follows therefore that fear is felt by those who believe something to be likely to happen to them, at the hands of particular persons, in a particular form, and at a particular time.” - Rhetoric, By Aristotle, Book 2, Part 5

There is another case that is dangerous because we are not experiencing fear. We think that we are safe due to a long history of prosperity. This idea seems to be the case in the United States as we speak. We have not faced a widespread pandemic such as this. Therefore, our response to the outbreak has been slow, cumbersome, and labored at best. We are having a hard time feeling fear because of our track record of prosperity. 

“People do not believe this when they are, or think they are, in the midst of great prosperity, and are in consequence insolent, contemptuous, and reckless-the kind of character produced by wealth, physical strength, abundance of friends, power...” - Rhetoric, By Aristotle, Book 2, Part 5

When is fear detrimental?

When fear gets out of control and is no longer grounded in reality, that is when things become detrimental. It can be healthy and life-preserving to fear in certain situations. However, when we begin to panic, that is when we are emotionally hijacked. If we panic, then we are no longer guided by reason and logic in our decisions. We become increasingly irrational and impulsive. We begin to buy an overabundance of things that we don’t need, such as toilet paper, in a desperate attempt to do something to make us feel that we have at least a shred of control. It’s crucial in situations like that to take a step back and look at the bigger picture and realize a few aspects that Seneca reminds us about fear:

“There are more things ... likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality. ...What I advise you to do is, not to be unhappy before the crisis comes; since it may be that the dangers before which you paled as if they were threatening you, will never come upon you; they certainly have not yet come. ...Accordingly, some things torment us more than they ought; some torment us before they ought; and some torment us when they ought not to torment us at all. We are in the habit of exaggerating, or imagining, or anticipating, sorrow.” - Moral letters to Lucilius by Seneca, Letter 13. On groundless fears

We have created a system that benefits from and controls via fear. We are constantly inundated with all that is bad and negative in the world. There are bad things that happen. The issue is we have no perspective. We can think about all of the bad things that happen in a single country. Several news channels play clips of all of these bad things regularly. If we think about the number of things that happen each day to cause people harm, this is to say events that should cause us fear, and we compare that to the entire population of that country, then we can see clearly. If we take the occurrence of evil actions and divide it by the society at large, we can see that the number most likely will be tiny. This is yet again an instance of why we as humans are bad with statistics. Maybe there were three shootings in a city in a day, but there are ten million people in the area. That’s an incredibly small number, and the likelihood that we will become a victim of such a crime is minuscule. 

“...Here is the rule for such matters: We are tormented either by things present, or by things to come, or by both. As to things present, the decision is easy. Suppose that your person enjoys freedom and health, and that you do not suffer from any external injury. As to what may happen to it in the future, we shall see later on. Today there is nothing wrong with it. ...” But,” you say, “something will happen to it.” First of all, consider whether your proofs of future trouble are sure. For it is more often the case that we are troubled by our apprehensions, and that we are mocked by that mocker, rumour, which is wont to settle wars, but much more often settles individuals. Yes ... we agree too quickly with what people say. We do not put to the test those things which cause our fear; we do not examine into them; we blench and retreat just like soldiers who are forced to abandon their camp because of a dust-cloud raised by stampeding cattle, or are thrown into a panic by the spreading of some unauthenticated rumour. ...And somehow or other it is the idle report that disturbs us most. For truth has its own definite boundaries, but that which arises from uncertainty is delivered over to guesswork and the irresponsible license of a frightened mind. That is why no fear is so ruinous and so uncontrollable as panic fear. For other fears are groundless, but this fear is witless.” - Moral letters to Lucilius by Seneca, Letter 13. On groundless fears

How can we overcome fear?

If fear is running rampant in the streets of our country and the neurons of our mind, what is it that we could do to curtail such a response? It makes sense to me that we should take care to ensure our view of the world is not skewed or distorted in some harmful way. Looking at facts from trusted sources is a solid first step. If we begin to take in reliable data, our mental model of the world will improve. If we can improve our mental representation of the world, then we will gain confidence, which is what we need to experience less fear in our lives. 

“[Confidence] is the opposite of fear, and what causes it is the opposite of what causes fear; it is, therefore, the expectation associated with a mental picture of the nearness of what keeps us safe and the absence or remoteness of what is terrible: it may be due either to the near presence of what inspires confidence or to the absence of what causes alarm. We feel it if we can take steps-many, or important, or both-to cure or prevent trouble...” - Rhetoric, By Aristotle, Book 2, Part 5

The vital thing to note here is that a lack of perceived helplessness inspires confidence. If we become hopeless by being beaten down too many times, then we do not feel confident that if we try yet again, we will persevere. If we feel hopeless, likely, we will not attempt to take steps to take on what gives us fear. This situation is why it is essential not to take on too much. We must face small bits of our concern. These pieces must be small enough that we can overcome them because if we do not, then the likelihood that we will give up on this endeavor increases.

“Accordingly, weigh carefully your hopes as well as your fears, and whenever all the elements are in doubt, decide in your own favour; believe what you prefer. And if fear wins a majority of the votes, incline in the other direction anyhow, and cease to harass your soul, reflecting continually that most mortals, even when no troubles are actually at hand or are certainly to be expected in the future, become excited and disquieted. No one calls a halt on himself, when he begins to be urged ahead; nor does he regulate his alarm according to the truth. ...We let ourselves drift with every breeze; we are frightened at uncertainties, just as if they were certain. We observe no moderation. The slightest thing turns the scales and throws us forthwith into a panic.” - Moral letters to Lucilius by Seneca, Letter 13. On groundless fears

We can take steps to seek some semblance of truth based on factual data. Of course, we always have to be careful where we get our data. We must be aware that certain data is funded by specific organizations that have hidden agendas. So we must question everything. This approach makes life vastly more confusing and complicated, but it will lead us toward the truth and away from false and ungrounded fear. 

How can we use it to our advantage?

The stoics often suggest that looking at our problems as solutions is the best method for overcoming them as hurdles. Therefore, when speaking of fear, we can attempt to temper it and base it on reality. If we do this, it can guide us on a safe path through life. We must take care not to let it force us into being so reliable that we are not able to experience the fruits of life, yet we do not want to be belligerent either.

“...But life is not worth living, and there is no limit to our sorrows, if we indulge our fears to the greatest possible extent; in this matter, let prudence help you, and contemn with a resolute spirit even when it is in plain sight. If you cannot do this, counter one weakness with another, and temper your fear with hope. There is nothing so certain among these objects of fear that it is not more certain still that things we dread sink into nothing and that things we hope for mock us.” - Moral letters to Lucilius by Seneca, Letter 13. On groundless fears

If we cannot temper our fear, then perhaps as Seneca suggests, we can couple fear with hope. This way, we stay safe, but we can have a belief that things are not as bad as they are being conveyed to us. It makes sense to remain cautious here as hope without action is hopeless. 

Conclusions

“The fool, with all his other faults, has this also, – he is always getting ready to live.” - Epicurus as quoted by Seneca

At the base of this emotion of fear is the idea that we, as humans, need to stay safe to be able to procreate and carry on the species. However, if we are so secure that we need a bubble suit to leave the house, what’s the point of living in a sphere devoid of pleasure. It makes sense at this juncture that the ultimate approach to fear is some level of tempering. We can take steps to gather reliable data and not allow our thoughts to run wild with the inflated potential of harm. 

“...Let us, then, look carefully into the matter. It is likely that some troubles will befall us; but it is not a present fact. How often has the unexpected happened! How often has the expected never come to pass! And even though it is ordained to be, what does it avail to run out to meet your suffering? You will suffer soon enough, when it arrives; so look forward meanwhile to better things. ...What shall you gain by doing this? Time. There will be many happenings meanwhile which will serve to postpone, or end, or pass on to another person, the trials which are near or even in your very presence. A fire has opened the way to flight. Men have been let down softly by a catastrophe. Sometimes the sword has been checked even at the victim’s throat. Men have survived their own executioners. Even bad fortune is fickle. Perhaps it will come, perhaps not; in the meantime it is not. So look forward to better things.” - Moral letters to Lucilius by Seneca, Letter 13. On groundless fears

In the end, we will all meet our maker. We get to decide whether we are stricken with anger, or naively move through the world free of fear. Like with many things in life, perhaps neither of these extremes is the optimal approach. What is the ultimate strategy for us is, in the end, up to each individual. This article is meant to bring up some ideas simply and does not serve to provide any prescriptive methods for dealing with fear. 

For Further Consideration

Fear is something worthwhile to talk about often as it guides our life so heavily. I delineate the psychological aspects in a previous article here. I’ve also illustrated fear in a real-world scenario where I met a stray dog on the road while running in the remote wilderness of New Hampshire in “Dogs of Chaos.” I explore the side of fear where hopelessness arises in the article “Is your life a constant test, a struggle?” In the last article I welcome you to, I examine a newer fear that has arisen from the vast amount of opportunities to be entertained due to our technological advancements in “Fear of missing out.”