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12400450086?profile=RESIZE_400x#Desh Subba was born in Dharan, Nepal and is internationally famous for his 'Fearism' philosophy. Now he is living in #Hongkong with his family. He is a contemporary philosopher. Many authors are following his works. He coined the word 'Fearism'. When I was in Hongkong, I (Borsing Rongphar) interviewed him as the Chief Editor of SOLANGDO newspaper. I visited Hongkong from February 15 to 19, 2024. It was my pleasure to meet him. Here are the excerpts of the interview. 
 
SOLANGDO: Being the founder of Fearism and the fearist philosopher would you kindly focus on the Philosophy of Fearism?
DESH SUBBA: Fearism is a contemporary philosophy. It looks at life and the world from a Fearism lens. Life is conducted, directed and controlled by fear and Fear Precedes Essence is its basic  argument. 
 
SOLANGDO: According to you, what is the role of fear in shaping ideas and theories and its impact on social structures?
DESH SUBBA: When I studied historical (stone weapon) biological (Amygdala part of the brain) and linguistic (development of signal in danger) points of view, I learned that society is structured by fear. In this context comes politics, law, court, police, army, hospital, school,  insurance, and fire brigade, etc. For examination, we remove fear and see; that all mechanisms don't work. Therefore, we can understand the structure of society is fear. Regarding ideas and theories, some ideas and theories are based on fear. Power theories, some inventions (medical theories), and missiles are based on it.
 
SOLANGDO: Would you kindly state the essence of Fearmorphosis?
DESH SUBBA: Before coin Fearmorphosis, I analyzed metamorphosis and broke it into two parts: meta  and morphosis. The meaning  of metamorphosis is transformation. I asked myself what is the reason for it? If living (animals) and non living things (language, culture, religion, literature, fashion) do not metamorphose according to time and place, they will become extinct or die. The cause of change is fear (die, extinction, collapse etc). Then I concluded that Metamorphosis is not an appropriate word for it. The best word for it is Fear+ morphosis= Fearmorphosis. It carries the meaning better than metamorphosis. 
 
SOLANGDO: How and when does the theory or Philosophy of Fearism  come to your  mind?
DESH  SUBBA: 'Bhayabad' was a word I had written in my manuscript of the novel. Which I did not publish. Philosophy of Fearism is an English translation of Bhayabad. I distributed the manuscript to some of my friends for feedback. When Sharan Subba returned to me, he underlined this word with red ink. Whether he knew its importance or not, it enlightened me. I thought it could be something new. Afterward, I focused my attention on its establishment. 
 
SOLANGDO: What are the universities you have been  invited to lecture on Fearism?
DESH SUBBA: Philosophy of Fearism was published in 2014. Then, I began to promote it. During its promotion, I have lectured at Hongkong University, JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru Universicity), Guwahati University, Manipur University, Dhaka University, Moscow University, and Paris University, several colleges and educational institutes and literary events. Mariam girls' College of Hojai, secondary school in New York   (Manhattan, New York, USA), philosophy club in Connecticut (USA). One of the recordable programs was organized by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council at Diphu, Assam. These are the major universities where I have delivered my speech. 
 
SOLANGDO: How many books have been authored by you so far and what are they?
DESH SUBBA: My sole writing books are Philosophy of Fearism (2014), The Tribeman's Journey to Fearless (2015), Trans Philosophism (2021), and Fearmorphosis (2023). Some books I co-authored with R.Michael Fisher (Canada), B Maria Kumar (India), Osinakachi Akuma Kalu (Nigeria), and Dr. Bhawani Shankar Adhikari (Nepal). Rana Kafle from Assam, India has written  many literary books in Assamese, Hindi, and Nepali based on Fearism. His latest novel 'Raithane' won a US$ 2100 award (International Nepali Literary Society Award) from the USA. He is the one who spread this innovative idea in North East India. In Fearism travel, he visited Manipur, Meghalaya and many parts of Assam. One of his remarkable works is Basibiyalo (face to face) 2 year removable program. He did door to door programs of Fearism in several places. It was very popular and his team had been invited to schools and communities. His team was honored by society, institutions, and communities.  
     Thank you for taking my interview. I hope general knowledge of Fearism can be obtained from it.
He has posted it in Solangdo Fan page and his Facebook post. Solangdo is an Assmese Daily Newspaper, It is published from Diphu, Karbi Anglong, Assam, India.
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Linda Comlan Sessi interview with Desh Subba

 
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I am Linda Comlan Sessi from Republic of Benin. 
I am a Researcher/ Political Science/ Peace & Security Gender specialist. 
 
Desh Subba is a contemporary Fearism, Trans Philosophism, and Fearmorphosism philosopher. He was born in Nepal and lives in Hong Kong. His theories influence several Trans Philosophism age authors. This interview is to give basic ideas about Fearism.
 
 
 
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Could fear have several natures?
 
Desh Subba: It doesn't have several natures. When it deals with objects, it looks varied. Suppose it is water. In which bottle we put or which color we mix, it looks like that. Fear can be camouflaged according to the object.
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Does fear construct a society?
 
Desh Subba: Yes, society, politics, and governments are structured by fear. Michel Foucault and some other thinkers believe society is constructed by power. In this argument we need to see Fear Precedes Power or Power Precedes Fear. The best example of this is the hunting people. They were not in a group or society at first. Fear of the beast and hunger made them unite. The unification is a power. That unification later fearmorphosises into a group and society. 
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Can fear, as an emotion, a feeling, or a sensation that an individual feels or experiences, be considered a phenomenon?
 
Desh Subba: I used to talk about Special and General fear. General comes under emotions. The special comes from the Amygdala. It gets information from our senses and takes action (instructs senses). 
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: If we take the essentialist approach, is fear a virtue that can condition human life?
 
Desh Subba: During Corona, our essence was medicine. The reason for it was fear. It can be applied to every sphere of life. Fear is a virtue of essence not condition.12385140470?profile=RESIZE_400x
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Can fear be transformative?
 
Desh Subba: No, it remains constant. The level of fear can  be up and down. It changes time and space due to its comfort. The speed of light remains constant, Albert Einstein said. It changes the time and space. It applies to the case of fear too.
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Is fear an asset for a human being? We often hear it said in our environments: "A child who is too afraid or who is afraid cannot dare or make big decisions".
 
Desh Subba: Fear is a consciousness. Our consciousness begins with fear. Fear is a valuable asset. How to preserve and properly use it is our duty and responsibility. We have to value it. Assume we have a precious diamond that has to be protected, preserved, valued, and used. All living things come from the same route. Life-consciousness- knowledge- fear is formula.  
Virtuous or righteous fear is equal to the 'Golden Mean' of Aristotelian. He manifested it in happiness. The highest and lowest activities don't make us happy, he pointed out. The medium is the best. Likewise, Too or less afraid is harmful. It causes many problems in life. It is not the issue of children, it is for everyone. So, we keep neither more nor less fear. For our sake, 'Golden Fear' is the best.
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Does age determine a person's level of fear?
 
Desh Subba: Age doesn't determine a person's fear, it is determined by the level of consciousness and knowledge. When I was in high school, my science teacher was afraid of insects because he knew their poison. Students did not care about insects because we didn't know their harm. 
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: How does the Philosophy of Fearism offer new perspectives on our relationship to fear and its impact on our individual and collective lives?"
 
Desh Subba: The Philosophy of Fearism is a new approach in the world. Before the fearism school of thought, most of the thinkers wrote it with harmful emotions. In their opinion, it is marginal. We are the first thinkers, we place it in the primary. It is supported by biology, history, and language. Life is conducted, directed, and controlled by fear and Fear Precedes Essence (power) are foundations.  It shows its impact on our individual and collective lives. 
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Bhagawat Gita explains how fear manifests. Does fear manifest through the mind or knowledge as Gita says? Doesn't the manifestation of fear come from what we see (sight) or feel?
 
Desh Subba: Bhagawat Gita is a holy text. It says its belief. Fearism believes fear manifests from the brain. It is a kind of enlightenment. See means sense, eyes send signals to the brain and the brain gives instructions to other senses. After enlightenment, it spreads. What we see, understand, and feel depends on our perceptions, and varies. 
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: How can we observe the manifestation of fear through the mind and senses?
 
Desh Subba: We observe it at the time while the tiger appears in front of us abruptly. Tiger is an example. The threat to life first activates in the brain and later, the heartbeat beats.
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: I want to understand Bhagavad Gita's explanation. Why does it say that the spirit is above our senses, I mean organs like sight, and that knowledge is above the spirit and the soul above knowledge?
 
Desh Subba: It is a spiritual holy belief, Hindu text often talks about  Parmatma. Atma is soul or spiritual. Parmatma is the highest spirit of the soul. It can be said that it is a product of 5 senses. Our senses are raw materials for it. 
Fearism talks about factual and transcendence fear. Some fears we can feel, some cannot. Which cannot be felt physically, that is transcendence. Gita talks about fearlessness, and Fearism argues its management. If it manifests from the brain then how can it be removed (fearless)? Once American scientists experimented. They took out the Amygdala from the mouse, and that mouse walked like a drunk and went to tease the cat. The mouse lost consciousness.
 
Linda Comlan Sessi: Can an individual manifest fear without any obvious basis?
 
Desh Subba: Fear can be individual, family, group, society, national, and international. In another word we can understand, it is subjective and objective too. It manifests from many sides like thinking and overthinking, a sense of dread, from emotions. Emotion is complicated. For instance, greed, jealousy, pleasure, and suffering always bear fear.
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12381326895?profile=RESIZE_400xThe existence of the whole universe is a gallery through which the life visits within and outside. Naturalism is the characterization certificate of the living and non-living things. We as a human race stand at the center of such a universal structure. The greatest of all great is the undiscovered unity of the Lord of worship. The man, world and God relation has been a subject triad in various studies, either in humanities, science or technology. Nevertheless, death is the reality which doesn’t have any recovery. The human is destined to end, though a thoughtful life is still available, full of dreams. Somehow or however, I exist, we and all of us, are born in this world to live the best way we want or we may quest for in order to utilize the necessary opportunities, goods or luxuries in life. Simultaneously, we are attached in a relationship with this outer society consciously and unconsciously.

My identity comes out in the presence of the other man, otherwise there exists no meaning and the purpose of life, assuming it is only in darkness lacking individuality or meaningful existence. The reality of existence is useless, if it has any purpose or we have been sent for being tested; all such dilemmas are logically unverifiable. The only fact that we can conclude: is that we are born with a body and of a sensible mind. A philosopher’s mind tries their best to search for the answers to satisfy their quest for ultimate reality, as the backdrop of their quest for meaning and purpose.

Turning to the contemporary modern approach of analytical philosophy, it brought language as the whole sole domination of what is civilization. It posits that linguistic structure is the only knowledge discovered within human race, whatever is customized as language. All discourses are constituted in a basis for producing knowledge of this external world. The infected life of an individual shows the symptoms as fearmorphism in partial structuralism. Projecting towards such linguistic or structural codes of living prevents us from our essential interrogation of impartial existence of the ‘self’. It is the Sartrean man of authentic being to be conscious of realization if being for itself (authentic being) from being in itself. As in connection to the concept of a partial world it is not completely non being but the being - a kind that projects us with the readymade choices. This structuralism constructs partial owing of identity, to the fact that it is fixed and limited and that doesn’t allow our responsive freedom and wide awakeness as possible. Within such a mood of being, of course, it conveys fearmorphism of a partial structuralism. These choices are like the bolster of fearmorphosis unrecognized and unrealized. The zone of comfortable practice shut the doors of possible illumination of man’s destiny. And 'freedom' is compromised.

The life of human beings is always situated and through choices projected towards the future accelerated by the hierarchy of needs. Thus, it is a kind of cyclic being in the world. While in between, at some moment or projection of choice (given bolster) one enjoys and feels happy. It is the motivation for something which they desire or they reason that is responded but it is needed to understand that it doesn’t mean man is happy in totality. We all must interpret the difference that is the life but only to fulfill our needs or the structural demands. The real essence of the impartial self is nowhere existing or I may refer it, is nowhere dominated. The push and pull of the hierarchical needs are also a player in disguise. Each situation of a human life has a saturation point and one again has another venture. Slowly and gradually humans unconsciously keep getting away from this impartial self. The overall cycle of the life of a human being goes in a manner delineated by the partial structural society or a world as a whole. Now, an individual self--a part (impartial) is dominated by nature to represent the whole (partial). The very notion which I want to elucidate here is the role and nature of a partial whole and how the impartial self cannot be revived due to fearmorphism of the whole. However, the concrete fact is that ‘all of us are conscious of his impartial self’. We humans with a perfect mind and body have a great mechanism in-built to calculate right & wrong and good & bad through the process of life. The lost humanity is the resultant symptom with implications of this partial structure and it's doomed fate of self-surjection [self-subjugation?].

I really sometimes sit to contemplate, and to see, and I remind myself as being a part of the whole, unable to present my impartial essence in this partial world. The partial structuralism holds me so tightly that I am bound to carry a handbag rather than keeping a wallet in my pockets. Think for a thought of a moment, if any self introduces to wear or carry the wallet in some sort of style how will it be accepted and affected, and also know the disturbance it will create in the marketing of the handbags. This is another serious factor and there, of course, is an invitation to the criticism against being away from the structural strata. The habit of avoidance is one of the methodologies that make us distance the presenting of our essential impartial existence. This is actually a type of fearmorphosis which is greater than the fear of DEATH. It holds how my ‘impartial self’ unfits in the ‘partial world’. However, this illustration is too simple but speaks volumes to portray the world as Partial Structuralism or a cause of fearmorphism. The relational role we play in the presence of ‘other’ carry us to develop the way shown by the whole. And in doing so, we all are Sisyphus, the boulder we are carrying again and again is the result of not being the impartial self. This is the first and foremost fearmorphism, which later develops into different types of morphism of fear. The philosophy which I am trying to introduce through this paper is partial structural fear morphisms that recently discussed and developed in the writings of my works (see Subba, e.g., Subba, 2023), as a contemporary philosopher of the 21 st century.

Moving with these artifacts then lets starts our journey of life as a narrative. A captain of a ship never knows that their ship shall sail to its destination or not. They are well familiar of the structural nature of the water body they sail and well know they are at risk of different fearmorphisms. You may be thinking of what is the fearmorphism of the ship sailing in the water? The basic inherent feature of water has different fear morphosis like water storm, high winds, sea pirates, underwater volcanoes, water currents, the sea creatures and within the ship itself. Here, in limitations of the partial structuralisms, these can be described as different forms of known fear,  still the captain sails. Similarly we are the captain of our life that owns peculiar structural morphisms of fear. The responsible man as a captain is ready for such hardships and challenges because of the motivational force of the destination. And, they keep this journey going with the ups and downs of it, along with the different destinations intended. Man is also the captain of his life similarly, which carries the responsibility, authentically served. The existence means, he is born, reared and grown with the world. Our existence is surrounded with the partial structure that encourages our body to disguise the essence and report in the manner convenient to the 'normanl' system of conventions. The cycle of life is difficult to such a manner of operations, and one is challenged to be merely strong willed, to be the impartial self (part) in the partial whole. The consequential fear of the choices of the decisions, in a situated life of being limited, is the very nature of our essential self.

The purpose of life cannot be fulfilled and the cycle of life within fearmorphism has no end but death itself. We the humans of this advanced and technical world has rather increased the fear by the ameliorating of the existential being. The addition of the complex mechanics develops novel types of fearmorphosis is another application of this modern world. The philosophy of such partial structure as a whole and part as a self in relation of the above ideology needs wise critical hermeneutics of the purposeful life as a humanist in the world. Derivatives of the structural fearmorphism has its own relevance and existence and it cannot be discarded or demolished for it is relatively significant in the development of life. But what all is pertinent is self-certification.

This is the very relevant issue to ponder and procure the essence than being a Sisyphus of the modern world of partial structure.

 

Reference: 

Subba, D. (2023). Fearmorphosis: Man is a fear Sysyphus being watched by panopticans. Xlibris. 


- Saima Hasan
(PHD Scholar)
Department of Philosophy- Faculty of Arts
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

[note: Edited for English and clarity by R. M. Fisher]

 

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Recent Interviews by Hosts of Podcasts of R. Michael Fisher: 

  

2024 (upcoming)- “The Path of Fearlessness, Healing & Liberation”

            (w/ Mmabatho Montse, Conscious Conversations)

 

2024 – “The Marianne Williamson Presidential Phenomenon”

            (w/ Layman Pascal of Integral Stage)

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9FE5ObwcEs

 

2023 – “Pandemic of Fear” (w/ Lindsey Sharmyn of Rogue Ways)

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0x-7xw_fJ0

 

2023- “Fear, Education & Freedom: A Deep Dive”

            (w/ John Coleman, Apocatastasis Institute for the Humanities)

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXHOSrNVlno

 

2023      R. Michael Fisher on political fearlessness & Marianne Williamson 2024.

            (w/ Kevin Barrett, Truth Jihad Radio (March 29) at

 

            https://www.unz.com/audio/kbarrett_peter-myers-re-solves-mh-370-r-michael-  fisher-on-political-fearlessness-marianne-williamson-2024/

 

(2022) “Reflections: Fear & How to Overcome It” (w/ Rom Gayosa (host) Future TV.   

 

           https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6900110652824715264/

 

(2020) “Fearism with R. Michael Fisher,” Hermitex Podcast, Dec.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPB9oVZnI4A

 

 

 

 

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QUOTE: Maybe you remember Marianne Williamson warning about a “dark psychic force” and claiming that while Donald Trump had harnessed fear for political purposes, she was going to harness love. (wrote J. Geraghty, Feb. 1, 2023).

USA has its Presidential election going on right now, with the final voting in Nov. 2024. I have followed Marianne Williamson's campaign for leader of this country since late 2018. After five years study, and evidence from voters coming in this last month in the "Primaries" (New Hampshire, S. Carolina, Nevada) is is clear that the voters (Democratic ones) do not buy that a Williamson presidency of a "politics of love" is what the country needs. Marianne just announced yesterday officially she is dropping out of the race because of her big defeats and that Joe Biden (incumbent president) is slated to sweep the country and win the nomination for Democratic Leader for the Nov. election. 

There's another book to write here, as my first book in 2021 on her campaign and her intellectual biography is a good summary of this leader and what happens to them when they go into the arena of 'the big boys' on the political landscape of America. It ain't pretty. The second book I'll write will be based on my research of the 2024 campaign and what happens after yesterday; that is, where will Williamson and her followers go as a cultural phenomenon of such major defeat of love. Of course, Williamson and many of her followers would claim there is no defeat, no ending of this politics of love, and that it is only a beginning, etc. There is much new agey philospophy to be spilled out as that is always part of her campaign and her charismatic motivational leadership. She has over 40 years of practicing this kind of rhetoric. She's good at it. However, the dice have been cast and I would trust that a lot of good critical reflection go into the learning from the critiques and wounds and mistakes made running a LOVE Campaign in today's world. 

If you want to hear her final 2 min. speech declaring her ending of running for leadership of the Democratic Party, go to: https://mariannewilliamson.substack.com/p/much-to-be-grateful-for?r=3zkfe&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

According to a Politico article by Britanny Gibson today: 

"Williamson has not said whether she will seek another run for office. But she will return to the literary world with a new book set to be released in May. Williamson delayed the publication of The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love last fall, when the book’s announcement attracted accusations that the campaign was a “grift” to promote the book." 

 

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In Summary:  [go to my in depth talk with Layman Pascal on the MW Phenemenon and Love vs. Fear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9FE5ObwcEs]

 

I am aware of a growing critique myself, that Williamson always knew she wouldn't lose anything in this campaigning 2018-2024 because she is a 'preacher' with a message campaign. And the presidential platform is a great stage of a lot of free promo space to share her spirituality and politics of love. I suppose that is nothing wrong itself. I suppose it is a good case of how that goes over for the public however--another message, another non-intended consequence of a good venture with perhaps more nasty consequences still yet to unfold.

 

That said, MW has left us with a good website Marianne 2024 that she will keep up she said, for those who want to borrow political ideas from it for the future. A noble gesture. And, to be sure, all evidence shows me that Marianne will never run in politics again. 

 

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Film on Women's Mental Health Struggles

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This past week has been a bit of a "mental break" (down) for me due to a massive cold virus, which kicked my ass. In going through 30 hrs. of not being able to sleep or dream, but rather watching my mind (almost totally Left Hemisphere) obsessing compulsively and driving me nuts and to exhaustion, I had to let go and admit defeat. I processed and did some healing and journaling but I was 'sick' unlike I have been for years. I thought I was pretty healthy before get this cold virus. I sort of was and sort of was not. The final summation of this really hard sick-time, break-down-time, is that I was over-reving and turning into a workaholic. I liked being busy with meaningful work but the projects and emotional commitments and mental stress had got to me. In my not sleeping, obviously my system was teaching me about my getting 'too high' for too long on work and saving the world kind of idealism. It burnt me out, and in comes the cold virus to really make sure I go down and out. My whole perception of everything turned darker and negative and I was aware this would be frightening and depressing, but luckily I had enough personal and relationship capacities with my life-partner to work through this all. I'm on day five now of the cold virus kicked down. I can write again and think again with some clarity and positivity. So, I wanted to share this video above written and directed by Hillary Broughter (2020 Breaking Glass Productions). 

This is the second time my partern and I have watched this film over the years. I wont' give the spoilers to what this film is about. I would have titled the film differently "The Vicodin Murders." Of course, that's a lot harsher and negative sounding than "South Mountain" and sales of the DVD woud thus have been stunted. Yet, that is what this film is about-- it is about women and mental illness (disorders) and how they function (especially as mothers) with the chronic susceptibility to fear-based distress, depression and anxiety, neuroses, psychoses, and how they try to normalize this as "caring" for everyone else. This strategy however, negatively affects everyone they love and even may be part of causing cancer of their own breasts that they love. I'll leave it up to you to interpret what mental illness can do when it is both treated by psychiatry (e.g., Vicodin) and/or by marijuana, and/or by sex, and/or by.... multiple ways of coping. But where is the healing, and so especially for the women (e.g., mothers, grandmothers) that take care of so many others? It's a potent film. 

 

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Arguably, as many have said, we live in a culture of fear. So many of us are well aware of the masses of rapid-fire newsreporting. It is overwhelming in volume and suspect in quality of reporting. There is an app that a good source offered on their podcast the other day, as seemingly a great technology for (potentially really) helping you as a reader/viewer sort out what is 'really' going on in any set of new stories--especially, when they explode with popularity (and, yes, explode with polarization, with different viewpoints and ideologies inovlved...and a lot of untruth). Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eWDiaDOX0E  for more information on exactly how Ground.News (app) helps. I do not endorse this product because I have never tried it, but the reasons for it and the logic of its value for today's world, for keen readers and learners, is impressive. [Note: you have to go to the mid-way point in the interview in this video to get the information on Ground.News app]

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Fisher New Book (2024) on Sam N. Gillian Jr.

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To ORDER, go to: https://new.peterlang.com/book/isbn/9781636674803

With current surging polarities of perspectives, dangerous culture wars and immanent threats to the human social and ecological fabric, it is a good time to rediscover the true meaning of fear through the eyes of a creative and endearingly outrageous educator who taught ‘Fear is not the enemy.’ Through a combination of fiction and non-fiction, this book offers a first documentation of the philosophy and story of Samuel Nathan Gillian Jr. (1939-2006), an African-American educator-activist from the Bronx, New York.

Fisher takes readers on a journey of growth and development with a protagonist named Deana, a sophomore college student, as she comes to understand the radical importance of her Uncle Sammy’s life and work. Embellished with the intellectual rigor of a biography of a wise man, Fisher tracks his own relationship and those who knew and loved Samuel as the tension grows to a pitch in the story. Yet, the real brilliance lies in the psychological, philosophical and spiritual twists Sam Gillian brought forward in two stunning books on fear (2002, 2005) that this book revives.

Fisher [educator-fearologist], who has studied fear systematically since 1989, has never met a unique thinker like Sam Gillian. Through Fisher’s eyes, the special significance of Gillian’s work is brought to the general and well-educated reading public. An essential book for post-secondary education on fear management, a resource guide for school teachers, parents, psychologists, policy makers and anyone who seeks to help humanity establish a sustainable, moral and healthy relationship with fear.

 

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I offer below an excerpt of a few pages from my new philosophy of education book [1]: 

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Reference: Fisher, R. M. (2024). The Fear Problematique: Role of philosophy of education in speaking truths to powers in a culture of fear. IAP. 

To READ more on this new book, go to: https://fearlessnessmovement.ning.com/blog/the-fear-problematique-fisher-s-new-book

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HEY YA'll... I'm excited to share this link with you where I am interviewed by Integral Stage podcast (and Layman Pascal) 2024... as we talk about many things but focus in on the current USA election politics and the past, present and future of Marianne Williamson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9FE5ObwcEs

 

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Piegiacomo Severini, Italy

 

Dear Desh [Subba], sorry for my very late answer, I don't know why I don't receive Linkedin updates anymore. By the way, my best wishes for this new year!


Everything is still quite new, in both my work and my daily life, yet I'm so motivated and I'm also learning a lot of new things. I have to be patient and wait for the time when I'll know enough for publishing something new. In the meanwhile, I'm slowly finding my Japanese routine, which is great. Hope you're doing well too.

Regarding your book, in these first days of the year I had some free days and so I read your book [Fearmorphosis (I opened Linkedin exactly for writing to you)]. I have to say that to me this is the most consistent book from you, among the ones that you sent to me. Even though it is less extensive than the others (this is a good thing to me, because willing to speak of a too wide topic is always dangerous), finally you present some good argumentations and precise analysis, which justify your ideas and assumptions, while going on with creating this new vocabulary linked to Fearism and a fear-based bias. I think this is the most philosophically rigorous text you have written and I suggest to keep going on with this method even for your future research: in this way, people can better understand and dialogue with your ideas/writings.


Regarding your thesis in the book, I agree with you that fear is a good key for reading the examples that you propose/analyse and I also agree that human existence is not absurd at all. Sadly, I don't have enough time for analysing all the points more in detail.

I have two questions for you.

The first one, is regarding B. Maria Kumar article: do you think it describes your book?

It is a good and informative article, but I feel that he starts from your book for expressing his ideas on freedom rather than simply presenting your book. For example, it is my understanding that the part in which the human being can regain freedom if he/she moves from a fear-centered perspective to a fearless perspective is not present in your book (maybe you just mention this possibility, but I can't find a part where you analyse this explicitly and extensively). Even more, I think that what B. Maria Kumar says somehow rows against your foundamental belief that "fear precedes existence": if we were born free and fear enslaved us afterwards, as B. Maria Kumar is saying, this means that freedom preceeds fear chronologically... But being free means existing, so we come back to the idea that existence precedes fear (rather than yours "fear precedes existence").


Besides this, my second question/point is linked to the previous one: why you didn't develop a fearlessness theory/process out of this appealing analysis of fearmorphism?

I know that professor Fisher wrote something about "fearlessness", but I'm interested in your reinterpretation and in your way of landing to fearlessness after having analysed fear. I need a "pars construens" after the "pars destruens" that reread many philosophers and topics in your previous books. Let's pretend that you have convinced everyone that fear is the power that rules existence: now I'd like you to tell us how we can follow such path for living a better existence (through fearlessness, I guess).


For the rest, I agree basically with B. Maria Kumar's article and probably with you, if you're suggesting that we were born free and it's all about regaining our freedom, or our capability of acting freely and thus living a better existence. Maybe, then, "fear precedes existence" is not fully correct and we should better say that for various natural mechanisms fear tends to influence (or even rule) existence (as we can argue from B. Maria Kumar's article); if this is your aim and all your research on fear aims at promoting a fearless existence that can regain its original freedom, then you have me by your side (and my research really goes in a similar direction).

Note: B. Maria Kumar wrote an article " Opinion: Brewing freedom from fear" in Telangana Today newspaper on 1 December, 2023 about Fearmorphosis book. Author opines his arguments on the basis of that book and article.

Piergiacomo Severini is from Italy. He is Post-doc research Fellow at University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara.

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Connecting Fearism spokespersons

"Fear is beautiful Consciousness" (Desh Subba)


It's my immense pleasure to meet today with An esteemed retired DGP (Director General of Police ).

I'm Thankful to Mr. Desh Subba sir (FearismStudy Center, Dharan, Nepal) for introducing me Mr. Maria B sir.

Desh Subba and Maria B are very knowledgeable,  keen, kind and Down to earth personalities.

Desh Subba is the leading Fearism spokesperson in the East, and Co-founder of the Fearism Study Center (Dharan, Nepal, 2009).

Subba has published his first book   " Philosophy of Fearism " (2014), He started Fearism as a literary movement in 1999 with fiction and in 2011 with line poetry.in his service subba has achieved International Book Award (2015, Finalist), Dr. Shyam Karki and Indira karki Award in 2015 and National Indie excellence Award (Winner , 2015) and many more.
Mr Maria B who is a honorable retired DGP from Madhya Pradesh, India has gained many achievements during his service. In his service he was deputed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI, in 1996 to Visit British Police establishment,  in london to explore the possibility of training collaboration between UK Police and Indian police.

Maria B was honored with Sahitya shree Award, Vidhya vachaspathi , Acharya, and Bharat Basha Bhushan Award, and many more...like Indian Police medal (GOI), president's Police Medal (GOI), Singhast Medal (MP, govt) and Raj Basha Gaurav ( Ministry of Home Affairs,  GOI).

Maria B has been contributed and still on going in contributing his knowledge regarding fearism and other aspects which are nation facing issues to the newspapers like Andhra Prabha, Times of India,  Telangana today...

Both Maria B and Desh Subba are very actively connected with philosophy of Fearism and have published many books together.

To understand the subject Fearism,  we must need to understand what is fear??

Subba has beautifully described fear that "Fear has completely surrounded all living creatures, especially man, all things, natural things, human beings, and invisible things produce fear  all the time.
The fearist perspective is a new dimension to look at life and the world. The question strikes the mind, how does the Fearist perspective look at life and the world ?
The purpose behind fearism is to conduct continuous research, investigated invention in order to make life more comfortable. 

To understand more about fearism the following books will be helpful which has been published by Desh Subba and Maria B.

1. Philosophy of Fearism by Desh Subba

2. India, A Nation of Fear and Prejudice: Race of the third kind -  B Maria Kumar,  R. Micheal Fisher and Desh Subba

3. Fear, Law and Criminology- critical Issues in Applying the Philosophy of Fearism- R. Micheal Fisher, Desh Subba,  B Maria Kumar

4. Hidden dimensions of Human existence  - A fear fearlessness perspective. -R. Michael Fisher, B Maria Kumar

5. Resistance  Fearlessness: A Philosophy  of Fearism  Approach- B Maria Kumar, R. Michael Fisher

6. Philosophy of Fearism: A first East-West dialogue. -R. Michael Fisher, Desh Subba

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12332596058?profile=RESIZE_400xJames Miceli, University of Massachusetts, USA

This article covers my interpretations of the author's work, and discusses the philosophical views presented in "Philosophy of Fearism," by Desh Subba, a Nepali philosopher, poet, and novelist based in Hong Kong.  "Philosophy of Fearism," aims to provide a practical means of examining our holistic responses to fear and encourages an independent exploration of fundamental questions about our perception of Fear.  The text addresses a wide range of topics and offers unique perspectives on the nature of the world, ultimately presenting our responses to Fear as something to view positively rather than something to run away from.

 Why do some words start with a capital letter? (i.e. Being, Fear..): This is a tool used by philosophers to let you know that they’re referring to the philosophical concept, rather than the surface layer material.  Fear (capital F) would refer to the concept Subba builds upon, whereas fear (lowercase f) indicates the typical use of a word in our everyday.

Key Points:

  • Subba’s novel viewpoint challenges common interpretations of Fear from around the world.
  • His work influences and includes international communities ranging from politics, philosophy, economics, and engineering, and he lives his philosophy by presenting new voices in philosophy and journalism and inviting open criticisms
  • Philosophy of Fearism is presented as a necessary factor for authentic existence, rather than something to run away from, and aims to inspect our existence without imposing meaning or feelings onto the subsequent description.
  • Subba’s work proposes a practical means for examining our embodied responses to various factors and platforming the ideas of those around him, rather than limiting perspectives to his merelyhis own.

About Me:

I am a fourth-year undergraduate student of Clinical Laboratory Science and Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth and Veteran of the U.S. Army.  This review attempts to explicate my personal interpretation of the ideas and discussions presented by Desh Subba to a broader, philosophically inclined audience.

“After all, my greatest pleasure comes from philosophical conversation, even if I’m only a listener...”

-Plato, Symposium

Introduction

I recently finished the text ‘Philosophy of Fearism’ by Desh Subba, a Nepali philosopher, poet, and novelist currently living with his family in Hong Kong. Subba’s text echoes the early works of existentialist philosophers and journalists, and Subba’s theories are well known for their ability to influence scholars, journalists, and philosophers around the world. His text “Philosophy Of Fearism” (2014), uses its novel viewpoint as a way to challenge the readily available interpretations we’ve all run into on the internet, especially those of misunderstood or potentially undervalued thinkers. His ideas in this book reach into a broad range of topics including bipartisan politics, philosophy, economics, and engineering. His attempt to describe his unique viewpoint on the surrounding world offers novel philosophical perspectives on the nature of the world around us.

What’s the Gist?

While there's a comically large amount of truth to the idea that philosophy is the study of making more questions, the theme of my interpretation suggests that we “start at the very beginning", a very pleasant place to start.  Personally, I attempt to answer this question by showing how a word is used in order to better understand it, almost like rules to a game.

By describing fear as the underlying principle behind the coming-into-Being of all Beings-in-the-world, Subba proposes a way to view fear as a driving force, rather than something to run from. Philosophy, and phenomenology (referring to the phenomena of experience) in particular attempt to teach us how to inspect our own lives in an attempt to describe the fundamental experience of simply being present in the world in consideration of the human understanding that we exist to some degree as - as weird as it may sound - “bodies” in a specific location at a certain time, and how the variety in that experience can better inform our understanding of what it means to live a good life, particularly without imposing any meaning or feelings onto that description.

Fearism and Philosophy

Philosophy of Fearism is an attempt to identify fear as something “larger” yet still essentially contained within the self. In an attempt to isolate the essential features of psychological responses to various neurobiological, spiritual, and social factors, Subba offers a practical means for answering this question on our own, rather than limiting it to his own perspective, which is all too common in contemporary philosophical and academic discourse.  Consider Thales of Miletus, who "was made fun of by a playful Thracian serving - girl" while he was "gazing upwards while doing astronomy," and "made fun of him for being eager to know the things in the heavens, but failing to notice what was just behind him and right by his feet.((11A9) Plato, Theaetetus 174a)

“The story goes that when they were reproaching him for his poverty, supposing that philosophy is useless, he learned from his astronomy that the olive crop would be large. Then, while it was still winter, he obtained a little money and made deposits on all the olive presses both in Miletus and in Chios, and since no one bid against him, he rented them cheaply. When the time came, suddenly many requested the presses all at once, and he rented them out on whatever terms he wished, and so he made a great deal of money. In this way he proved that philosophers can easily be wealthy if they wish, but this is not what they are interested in.”

 ((11A10) Aristotle, Politics I.11 1259a9 - 18)

Whether or not this is literal advice or not is up for interpretation, but history would be hard-faced to put the Rockefellers on the other side of this argument.  Either way, I think that Subba’s view on Fear offers a fascinating view on our responses to things that cause Fear

For myself, Philosophy allows us to encounter and bridge the gap between new and old things alike, and explain our subjective experiences in a way that lets us play life as a metaphorical “tetris” rather than “jenga” - which is to say we should see the new ‘blocks’ we encounter as opportunities to find a perfect spot for them on non - specific principle, rather than the inherited and out of style of trying to leave the bare minimum by taking away from another. In this way, we can begin to see our mistakes as opportunities for growth rather than things to be fearful of.

When things we feel ashamed of can no longer gain control over us, we start to feel realize that it’s all kind of silly when we use them as authentic opportunities to make the cracks in our art into something beautiful, similar to the Japanese concept of Kintsugi mentioned (between the lines) by American Philosopher Elizabeth Woolridge-Grant.

Philosophy of Fearism:

Since Heraclitus, we've known that change is constant (through his logos) If it’s true that we can’t step foot in the same river twice, why do we continue to use old terms for new rivers?

“It is not possible to step twice into the same river. . . . It scatters and again comes together, and approaches and recedes.”

 ((B91) Plutarch, On the E at Delphi 392b)

 “We step into and we do not step into the same rivers. We are and we are not.” ((B49a) Heraclitus Homericus, Homeric Questions)

Why should you stick with Hegel if Foucault suits you better? In Nietzschean terms, Subba takes the view that not every scale on the dragon “thou shalt” has to be rejected, just self - inspected.  Subba’s philosophy presents the idea that we can use Fear to better diagnose our collective but independent senses of authentic Being-in-the-world. To Subba, we are able to overcome our response to fear when we are able to help others create their own sense of purpose - else one risks repaying their teacher poorly. (Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

Fearism hopes to provide a philosophy that informs us that we are best able to realize our transcendence when the veils of Maya are lifted, and we reason the shadows on the wall cast by pure facts and logic as that of Socrates, rather than the reality that it’s Euthyphro playing Nero’s fiddle. From this newer, more ontological perspective on fear, Subba highlights why we as humans have good reason to be cognizant of the impact that failing to adopt more actionable, humanitarian viewpoints on topics like better living conditions or transportation options, climate change and gender inequality would have on our flourishing.

There’s a reason all roads lead to Rome, and that very analytic circle on the Aristotelian Wheel of Logic is largely attributed to Gaius Octavion, whose successes in establishing a long - lasting empire were largely derived out of his early interchange of culture both into and out of his city. If we want to overcome Fear in our lives, we can also look to Viktor Frankl, for example, who proposes the idea that happiness can only “fall into your lap” as a product of something else, it cannot be acquired as an end in itself. Thus, the pursuit of a personal relation to the world is the pursuit of happiness, and seeing fear as inhibitory impedes on that fundamental and unique ability.

 When we instead view Fear as an opportunity to grow, or as a chance to find a place for something new to belong rather than trying to break it, we untether ourselves from the Heideggerian tendency to establish a norm or a “way one does things” based on social structures and based more on an authentic sense of Being-in-the-world that protects not only ourselves, but those around us and within our community. If we want to flourish, not just survive, we have to consider how we treat not only the people that look and act like us, but also create a means for new life and expression to reveal itself to us through the environment around us, which cannot happen if we continue to destroy our planet for temporary gains. Instead, for Subba, the actual way we turn Fear into fearful responses (i.e. so called Gestalt Principles) is something we, at least in part, learn from those around us, and the same is true for our own perception of others. Fearful responses prevent us from seeing our own futures as beautiful and/or worthy of hope or love, so we fail to understand the beauty of things that may be shown to us in new ways.

In what Subba refers to as the “village times”, for example, "seidr" in roman, viking, and pagan religious/shamanic practices would be seen as extremely feminine and shameful for men to practice because it encouraged them to dress up in women’s clothing, even despite the cultural tendency to regularly seek the advice of women in all matters, as documented by Tacitus in Germania, or MPs ‘I’m a Lumberjack’.

Rather than embracing our neighbors in times of change, we too often impose a belief that we cannot work together with our environment or ‘biosphere’ because of perceived differences of those around us, thereby adopting western beliefs in place of longer - lasting concepts like paramatma. We can look to historical figures that challenged these overly violent hero-figures as far back as Hildebrandslied, who fails to grasp the message from his elders that violence does not solve problems, which underlies german culture to this day, shown even through Nietzsche and Goethe, who clearly reaped the benefits of a more appropriate understanding of how we encounter fear.  In Will to Power, for example, Nietzsche writes:

“300. (Spring - Fall 1887) Suppressed and effaced heresy in morality.

 ---- Concepts:

  • Paganism
  • master morality
  • Virtue.

The abandonment of what was seen as “ugly pagan” interpretations of the world was vital in establishing the master - slave morality that Nietzsche associated with the European domination over Europe following the gross and despicable misuse of his and his sisters work by the Nazi party.

Goethe elaborates sightly more on the topic than the posthumously archived WIll to Power that Nietzsche’s sister frantically gathered and attempted to organize from the hoards of notebooks of an increasingly maddening Friedrich, instead expressing these ideas with a bit more prose:

"You are perplexed, my love, by this thousandfold mixed profusion, Flowering tumultuously everywhere over the garden grounds;

So many names you are hearing, but one suppresses another, Echoing barbarously the sound makes in the ear.

Each of their shapes is alike, yet none resembles the other, Thus the whole of the choir points to a secret law,

Points to a holy puzzle. I wish, lovely friend, that I were able to Happily hand you at once the disentangling word!— "

The Metamorphosis of the Plants

The Roman Elegies, for example, likely present an example of what awaits those who are willing to adopt and platform the more “feminine” perspectives Goethe found so abundant in Palermo (where, of note, rules on who could play what roles were much more loosely defined & subsequently outperformed the limited Shakespearean casting of Britain’s culture).  This applies to Subba’s concept of Linguistic survival, commenting on our desire to create sentences or phrases that will always be remembered perfectly as a way to ensure we are remembered. In general, we want to ensure we are remembered, but Subba encourages us to ask how often we find ourselves doing the same for others.

When Elisabeth and Friedrich Nietzsche discuss for what is now translated as a 'revaluation of all morals', for example, they don’t advocate for anarchy or violence, as this would cause us to choose what we are told rather than what is right, not only what is pious - and that (to me) is to love and care for the people around you, and to do your best to lend a hand to others where you can. Similarly, Subba uses Fear as a way to show that there's nothing inherently wrong with complying in society, and encourages us to pursue a sort of "eustress" vs "distress".

All too often, we prevent others from sharing new perspectives or ideas because we fail to consider them as having something to offer in the first place. This problem was easily solved in ‘village times’ where new perspectives were vital and brought great potential to the people, who readily worked to understand them.

My Interpretation

Subba uses this writing as a socratic investigation of the nature of our experience of fear, showing that actions we take during “fight or flight” responses are not always reflective of our essence as humans. The validity of Subba's arguments are reflected by Republic, for example, which shows that Thrasymachus major failure was that he lacked the self - reflective capacity to accept that other people may have equally valid but different fundamental unique experiences within the same world.

Subba’s view suggests that we consciously adjust our response to Fear through careful self - examination, enabling us to increase our potential for realizing the alleged Nietzschean ubermensch - after all, the Last Man is most often the one pulled from the herd. (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

According to Subba’s philosophy, consciousness lets us select certain things out of the foreground that have to be reached out into, rather than leaving the human experience up to symbols pasted onto background states, waiting to be recognized.

Subba writes that, although we associate some things we encounter in our life - like animals or weapons as causative agents of fear, fearfulness, in reality, arises out of an error in our own ability to comprehend new concepts, for which we feel reflects on our sense of competency in society. The reason someone purchases them, in my experience, is because they are afraid of his own weakness and thereby attempts to respond by inducing fear without cause, which, in reality, is just anxiety (according to Heidegger). The way we turn Fear into fearful responses (i.e. so called Gestalt Principles) is something we, at least in large part, learn from those around us, and the same is true for our perception onto others.  When we act in ways that cause harm to others or ours, be it actively or passively, we isolate ourselves by encouraging fear in place of discussion.  The risk we run into is the exclusion of many perspectives that, at a minimum, are worthy of consideration.

Conclusion

Overly Fearful responses prevent us from seeing new things or ideas as beautiful and potentially worthy of consideration, preventing us from seeing the world authentically and developing a personal relation with an environment that encourages the growth of all life forms. We prevent the development of not just others but also ourselves when we shame or “other” the people around us who are attempting to learn or reintegrate into society by inserting their own sense of “how one does things” onto another's, thereby treading on their autonomy. Similarly, Sun Tzu might highlight the power in keeping people from investigating their own personal forms or identities. Marcus Aurelius also writes that “the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” For Subba, we should consider the view of Fear as a source of color in the life project of becoming the "purple thread in the long white toga." (Epictetus).

It is one thing to overcome yourself, but can you help others overcome theirs, even if it causes Fear?

For more information on his philosophy, Subba’s other works, such as Trans - Philosophism (2021) and Fearmorphosis (2023) which discuss these ideas further, and highlight the need for contribution from post WWII - era existential phenomenological perspectives, especially those wishing to study complex and challenging topics like embodiment and free will. As always, Philosophy is - to me - a home for discussion about anything and everything, and phenomenology is a field which seeks to understand and preserve the viewpoints and perspectives of others and ourselves in the most genuine ways possible; Subba’s work highlights the value in learning from, rather than simply ignoring or rejecting, the philosophical mockingbird that is Fear.

[James Micell Published this article on his Linked In page. He permitted to republish her on the Fearlessness Movement ning -DS].

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Om Prakash Pokhrel

Assistant Professor, Gyanpeeth Degree College, Baksa, Assam, India

Abstract: The present paper aims to study the short stories of Arupa Patangia Kalita from a very new perspective in literary theory that is ‘The Philosophy of Fearism’, a first east - west dialogue, an emerging philosophy that deals basically with the issues of fear in human life. Arupa Kalita’s stories highlight her concern about ecology, social issues and the traumatic conflicts in human life; nonetheless, we can delineate her philosophical visions of Fearism in her portrayal of characters. The characters go through fearmorphosis, they are being watched by panopticans and sometimes scapegoat the innocent people, even the Nature with modern weapons and gun powder. Subba asserts that fear is terminator as it owns power of all power; Arupa kalita’s stories can also be interpreted with this perspective because the characters are found to be a fear Sisyphus, always under the multiple eyes or lenses of fear.

Keywords: Fearism, fearmorphosis, scapegoat, panopticans, fear sisyphus. . . etc

1. Aims and Objectives

This paper attempts to delineate the elements of Fearism immanent in the select short stories of Arupa Patangia Kalita, especially with regard to finding the philosophy of Fearism in literature.

2. Methodology

A systematic study of short stories from the collection "Written in Tears‟ has been undertaken. As secondary sources dealing with the theory of Fearism different research articles, journals, books, and interviews have been referred to.

3. Introduction

Fearism is a self declared existentialist philosophy founded by Desh Subba in 1999. It is a unique but mostly an eastern than western philosophy, emerged as a new critical theory in 2005 when it was first mentioned in Tapu Magazine published in Hong kong. Desh Subba, a Nepali contemporary philosopher, writer, poet, critic born in Dharan, Nepal and now lives in Hong Kong is considered as the founder of this new philosophy of Fearism. His self - published book "Philosophy of Fearism‟ (2014) depicts fear as a major and natural part of human life. “Bhayabad” is the Napali term for the Philosophy of Fearism, which was translated by Desh Subba into English for the Global society.

Fearism is that first consciousness of living which govern us in every phase of life. When we have a close look at our live, society or civilization, we are always haunted with the idea of fear at different level in different degree. Since the beginning of human civilization till today, no matter how much the progress in terms of science and technology to protect human being, has been done, the deep rooted fear has always affected humanity. We use everything for our safety purposes to make sure that we minimize fear but somewhere in the corner of the heart the looming fear destabilizes our peace of mind. The locks, passwords, security codes, alarms, CCTV, health care, Insurances, policies and so on are all results of the fear in us. These establishments are meant to minimize our fear, nevertheless, it still irks. Human being always have the fear of death, fear of loss, fear of disease, fear of society, fear of law, etc and this fear governs and controls every moment of life. Thus, fearism argues that “life is conducted, directed and controlled by the fear” (subba, 2014)

Beginning of Fearism:

Desh Subba says -

” The beginning of "Philosophy of Fearism‟ can be said to be accidentally emerged. In 1999, I prepared a novel entitled "Ujad‟ (desolate). A friend of mine Sharan Subba after reading the manuscript, he underlined the word "Bhayabad‟ with a red ink. I thought of it deeply for a quite a long time about the word. "This can be different‟ I pondered. ” (2018, subba) Subba means to say that this revolutionary term got a new dimension with his Brother Sharan Subba‟s kaleidoscopic observation on the term. Subba began to widen his thought on the term and kept ruminating over it with his friends resulting the most dominating philosophy of the 21st century with the publication of the Tapu Magazine published from Hong Kong in 2005. Thus, Nepal has made this place a "workmanship of a new philosophy‟ with a new vision of fearism. (subba, 2018). Hong Kong happened to be a new hub for the germination of this new idea and the visionaries and followers of different strata had choosen Prof. Dr. Tanka Prasad Neupane, a Nepali scholar as the first installed chairman of the "Fearism Study Centre‟ In Hong Kong. This study centre is committed to award "Tilmati Fearism Award‟ to an author who expands the horizon of the philosophy of fearism, to authenticate it Subba has mentioned the scholars namely Rana Kafle of Assam, India and Rajendra Guragain of Nepal, B Maria Kumar of India and Osinakachi Akuma Kalu of Nigeria for his book titled "The First Stage of the Fearologist”. (subba, 2018, 2 sept.) The Fearologist Institute, Calgary Canada was founded by R. Michael Fisher to promote the fearism studies.

Deconstructing Fear:

Jaques Derrida in his "Of Grammatology‟ (1967) introduced the concept of "deconstruction‟ to reject the notion of „structuralism‟ given by Ferdinand de Saussure. Derrida points out that the meaning is unstable not fixed and it is always "differ‟ or "defer‟ to another level for the playfulness nature of language. Desh Subba (co - author) in the book "Eco - Fearism‟ (2020) attempts to deconstruct the meaning of fearism to interpret the underlying multilayered meaning of the term. If we make an observation on the very term "fearism‟ in the past before "fearism thinkers‟, it is pertinent that in the past, thinkers, authors, spiritual leaders or typical Gurus had interpreted fear as a negative emotion or unpleasant feeling. Even some psychologist and motivational speakers were engaged in exaggerating its unfair impact on mankind merely for their own benefits without focusing much on its positive aspects. Fear, according to Subba, is very beautiful and positive consciousness of the world.

“Fear is a very similar (generally unpleasant) feeling (like anxiety) that arises as a normal response to realistic (or imagined) danger or threat. . . If you are rigidly attached to believing that fear is an emotion controlled by the amygdale of the brain (e. g. Le Doux, 1994), your scientifically - biased view will be challenged,. . ” (Subba, 2020)

Human civilization started with the concept of fear, primitive human being invented stone weapons to protect themselves, tree barks as a protection for the fear of cold and since then and till today fear is the basic to everything. Prof. Dr. Sanjeev Upreti Writes:

If we on peeling the layers of an onion, new layers appear and there remain void at last. Meanings are also like solid things –they have existence till a certain period. Gradually, original meanings become extinct and new ones start. The meaning of fear is also the same. We fear due to the meaning that we have heard, understood, and known. (subba, 2020)

Derrida used binary oppositions to clarify meaning of certain thing, but according to fearism binary opposition is insufficient in interpreting the meaning of fear as Subba said fear has tripartite opposition, he states -

“The constitution, law and order, government, police, and court all have been established for peace, happiness, and prosperity. In the absence of these, people fear murder, violence, theft, and robbery. Therefore, fear has tripartite opposition. ” (Adhikari, Akuma, Subba, 2020)

Recognizing Fearism:

Fearism with its foundation in 1999 as "Bhayabad‟ is able to attract many followers from different parts of the world. The book "Philosophy of Fearism‟ with its publication in 2014 consolidated a foundation on a new discourse in intellectual as well as literary world, and perhaps for its realistic applicability in human life the book won 5 International Book Awards in 2015 from USA. Thus, the followers of Fearism Movement are increasing and Africa has got the highest in number. The reason for the increasing followers from Africa could be the fear of war, violence, and starvation that is prevalent in African countries. It can also be said that fearism might have its impact in the North - Eastern Parts of India since it was once under the grim clutches of insurgency, violence and racism.

There are so many books written and published by different authors across the globe as a testimony to prove that the Fearism is really an emerging philosophy. Canadian author, Michael Fisher, Nigerian authors Osinakachi Akuma Kalu and Michael Bassey Eneyo, have already published books on Fearism, Indian authors B. Maria Kumar and B. S. Susmita have recently written the book ‟The Youth Dont Cry‟, (2018) is a critical commentary on the youth about their fears. “Philosophy of Fearism" - a First East - West Dialogue” (2016) authored by R. Michael Fisher and Desh Subba takes a specific focus on this philosophy pioneered by Subba from the east and Fisher from the west. A recently published book "Eco Fearism‟ (2020) co - authored by Bhawani Shankar Adhikari, Osinakachi Akuma Kalu and Desh Subba plungs into a profound analysis, prospects and burning issues of fearism to eco - fearism.

Eco - Fearism:

Eco - Fearism, a very new term was firstly coined by Dr. R. Michael Fisher in his technical paper 68 (Fisher, 2017). Fisher has presented the concept to illustrate Eco - Philosophy of fearism and Eco - Criticism which deals with eco - crisis philosophically as well scientifically. Eco - Fearism aims to generate a positive fear about the ecological global crisis in the heart of every human being. Fearism can be vocal in handling eco - crisis philosophically and scientifically because the rationality of the human being can direct them towards positivity that can help save the environment. The book Eco - Fearism –prospects and Burning Issues „co - authored by Bhawani Shankar Adhikary, Osinakachi Akama kalu, Desh Subba, (2020), talks about the formula of eco - fearism which states:

“I use life - consciousness - knowledge - Fearism, normally as theory in philosophy of Fearism. This theory can be applied any where looking its requirements. Now, Eco - crisis requires it. So, it is better to apply here. (2020).

Fearmorphosis:

Desh Subba has used the term Fearmorphosis in his book “Fearmorphosis‟ – Man is a fear Sisyphus being watched by panopticons” (2023) to deal with his philosophy of Fearism which carried forward the issues and ideas underlying the emotion of fear. Subba refers to the different kinds of myth, for example Sisyphus, the panopticon, the scapegoat, Das capital, and Metamorphosis as the most powerful driving forces for humanity. But Subba has tried to rewrite history, culture, politics, literature and philosophy through a systematic criticism of Sysiphus, the panoptican, and the scapegoat point of view.

Among a number of analytical perspectives, it focuses on classic existential literary teaching stories, like Metamorphosis, the Myth of Sisyphus, and No Exit from a new Fearmorphosis lens. (Subba, 2023).

4. Textual Analysis

The North - East region, geographically a place of hills and rivers, store house of tribes and ethnic groups, situated in the extreme corner of the map enjoys its special identity. Since the region is diverse in its manifestation of unique distinctive cultural traits, the literary activities of the writers of the region have beautifully demonstrated all these in their respective works. The writers from the region are found vocal in dealing with the heterogeneous modes of expression with their themes like ecology, trauma, conflicts, insurgency, violence, social issues, religious and cultural traits. . . etc as found reflected in the literature. Writers from the peripheries, however selective, are able to draw the attention of the mainstreams by breaking the rigid boundaries of their society. One of the most unexplored themes, seldom taken by any research scholar till now is the theme of Fearism in the North - East literature. Desh Subba, writing from Hong Kong inaugurated a new way of looking at the literature with a perspective of fearism that is deeply engrafted in every aspect of human world.

The writers from North - East India like Indira Goswami, Mamang Dai, Robin S. Ngangan, Temsula Ao, Mona Zote, L. Chandte, R. K. Madhubir, Indira Goswami, Mitra Phukan, Janice Patriat, Arupa Patangia Kalita have demonstrated the multifaceted ingenuity in their writing and the „cry‟ from the north - eastern region is no more inaudible in main lands. Fearism is a theory that can be applied to any aspects of human life and therefore, literature has proven the fact.

Among so many other writers, one of the most vocal from Assam is Arupa Patangia Kalita who has a good number of works to her credit. She is one of the leading voices in contemporary Assamese literature who won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014. The stories in the collection to her credit vividly demonstrate the ongoing agitations and violence of indigenous people which leave a deep impact on the nature and the environment for polluting and spilling of innocent blood in the peaceful region. The beautiful region that was so dear and integral part of these indigenous people is no more the same since the agitators have exploited it to turn it into a place of violence and conflict. Arupa Kalita has articulated the theme of fearism emerged as a result of insurgency in her story collection and a good number of the stories are set at the backdrop of Assam Agitation. Assam has a very terrible history of militancy arising from various socio - political - economic aspects which aim to segregate themselves from main stream. Writers of different class have witnessed the evolving uprising from the very near and have made efforts to respond by producing works of impression to record those experiences.

Arupa Patangia Kalita's story collection ‟Written in Tears‟ (2015), which contains six stories, can be best read applying the theory of Fearism. In one of the stories, titled "The Half Burnt Bus at Midnight‟ narrates the terrible story of a bus entering the town at midnight that was set ablaze by a group of insurgents. Arupa Kalita tries to express her concern that violence and agitations were the daily activities those days in Assam and common people have to live their life under the fear looming always over them. „

'So the people remain fearful - like cattle after escaping from a burnt - down shed and now so scared as to fear even the hint of a red cloud. So they prick their ears instantly even if the sound of bursting crackers comes from a wedding party arriving at the bride‟s house. ' (Kalita, 2020)

The common people of the village always had a fear of being a victim of the insurgency; at the same time they were to counter the Armies who came into the village in a search operation. In Desh Subba‟s Fearism the Fear is primary, and others are secondary. Thus, the characters in the story Terrorists, Armies, or the innocent village folk are all affected by fear and the mechanism to minimize fear was the major concern according to Subba.

The story "Ayengla of the Blue Hills‟ also narrates the similar connection of characters with nature, Ayengla is a happy woman who lives amidst the blue hills with her husband, two children, paddy fields, with pigs and chickens. It shows her love and attachment with the ecology but at the same time ecofear is a matter concern for her. Ayengla is so distressed to know that the people in the jungle have planted a landmine to attack the Army patrolling group.

'Last month, an army truck had just turned around a bend in the hills when a landmine planted by those in the jungle had blown it to smithereens. ' (Kalita, 2020)

The bloodshed and the devastation caused on both mankind and nature is the reason of her fear in the story which is beyond her understanding that left her with sleepless nights. After the bomb blast villagers barely stepped out of their house and the harvest and the gardens were all empty with no attention. Subba, as stated in his "Eco - Fearism‟ - prospects & burning issues (2020) the character Ayengla is more concerned about eco - crisis and therefore, she fears the landmine blast in the hills. According to Subba –

“Central task of eco - Fearism is to do theoretical analysis to eco - troubles. The entire troubles path goes to Fearism. ‟ (2020, Eco Fearism, p - 47)

The story "The Girl with Long Hair‟ narrates about an indigenous tribal girl Mainao who is the product of her tribal culture and traditions. She is a cheerful girl with her small twinkling eyes and rounded limbs taunt with the sun and rain and she loves to be in close connection with the nature around her. Mainao is so attached to the soil, a happy–go - lucky girl but she is always under a grip of fear which does not have the liberty to enjoy her blooming days as the restrictions are imposed on her by the terrorist organisations living in the forest.

„The boys engaged in the andolan announced the ban and warned that those who defied it would be punished. Their word was law‟ (2020, p - 11)

Mainao is basically a happy - go - lucky girl she doesn‟t remain remorse during Durga puja festival, and enjoys it to the fullest even if there is a restriction from the agitators hiding in the forest nevertheless, a fear of being the target can‟t be ignored. According to Subba there are some fear factors or fear agents responsible for triggering fear in human being.

"They are simply known as objects of fear or fear factors. They are the agents responsible for triggering fear. ‟ (2020, p - 6)

For Mainao the fear factors could be the people residing in the forest giving the orders of ban, or the Army forces patrolling in the villages who might interrogate her for providing food stuff or asylum. Mainao is seen caught in fear dilemma whether to defy the ban or to overcome the fear and plunge into the mission of joining her friends to celebrate the Durga puja.

Another story "Arunima‟s Motherland‟ narrates how a mother goes through series of trauma and fear just because her son joined the underground organization. A wedding engagement of a daughter of the family was broken, a bomb was hurled into the house, the villagers always neglected and the mental agony piled up every moment in their life. Arupa Kalita gives a very vivid narration how the fear of being annihilated in the locality disturbed Arunima, her mother - in - law, father - in - law, and other members of the family. The fear of losing her son always destabilises her so she kept on asking others about the news of her son which she anticipates, might be a blow to her.

"What‟s happened? Have they arrested Rupam ? She was smiling.

No, it‟s about something else, ‟ she replied. „Something else? What happened has the other one died?‟ „I don‟t know, ‟ her face reddened as she retorted. (2015, p - 28)

The story "Surabhi Barua and the Rhythm of Hooves‟ narrates how the people who opposed the Assam movement were harassed by the agitators. Surabhi Barua who is a professor in a College had to go through insults by her own students of the college for writing articles against this agitation. She always feared to face the slogans shouted against her; the fear was so vehement that other colleagues advised her to go on leave for few days. ” The Principal advised Surabhi Barua to take a few days‟ leave. . . . (P - 196)

The story ‟Kunu's Mother' shows how a woman without the support of a man in the family has to live amidst alarming fear. After the death of her husband, Kunu‟s mother always felt a kind of insecure because she has a young daughter very attractive and beautiful. A young man, from a militant outfit snared by her enticing beauty, starts to woo her which is the central reason of Fear in the story. According to Subba, Philosophy of Fearism teaches the solution to the problems of life. Subba believes that man must learn to minimize the amount of fear and moderate fear can solve the problem. Here, in the story Kunu‟s Mother does not lose her temper due to the excessive fear of her problem rather she curbs it and looks for a solution by sending her daughter to some distance places so that her daughter continues further studies. "My aunt‟s sons have their own electrical repair shop. They have their own house, not like ours. . . you won‟t have any problem. My aunt will take care of you‟. (P - 176)

Albert Camus "The Myth of Sisyphus‟ (1942) describes about Fear but not to the extent of fearist thinkers because the myth says life is absurd where as the fearist likes to affirm the meaning in life. The fearmorphosis varies with prior ideas, like deconstruction and metamorphosis fear does not have a fixed and distinct feature. Desh subba, with his fearist theory, asserts that the human being must be out of this absurd position. ” I submit that a fearist generalization, is that the human must be free from this particular form of a victim idea and absurd position” (subba, 2023).

In the prescribed Short stories by Arupa Patangia Kalita the characters are the victims of fearmorphosis, every character is a fear Sisyphus in some sense being watched by „Panopticans‟ (Bentham). They always look at the boulder of Sysiphus which may fall on them in any form like the agitation, killings, bombing or being exploited by the Armies.

In "The Half Burnt Bus at Midnight‟ the people of the village have seen a burning bus rolling down towards them like the Sysiphus, Ayengla in the Blue hills is disturbed because the ecology, the blue hills are being destroyed by the terrorists with the gun powder, and bombs so, the ecoFearism is an issue for her. The whole nature has been "scapegoated‟ for human benefit, thus, Subba says - Heavenly Earth became Hell by our doing‟. (Subba, 23, VII) Mainao, a young and attractive tribal girl is under a threat for violating the "commandments‟ of the banned outfit. She is under a mental tussle cannot enjoy the freedom of her life, like participating in Durga Puja procession, so, always fearing for the expected debacle that might fall on her because of those foul elements. "Suravi‟ cannot continue her job in the college, gets the ultimatum, and runs away from the field for the fear of her life. Even the Principal of her college is a fear Sisyphus being watched by the agitator in the form of „Panoptican‟. „Kunu‟ and her mother faces the unending atrocities, always feared the consequences if she is not married to that young member of terrorist who is after Kanu so; the family is just a "scapegoat‟.

5. Conclusion

Arupa Kalita's Short stories highlights the theme of philosophy of Fearism which is the "power of all power‟. (subba, 23). According to, him fear is a terminator and it segregates all other weaker emotions to take a lead. The characters in the stories are somehow affected by fearism and for being watched by panopticans they sometimes remain united into one structure to minimize the fear. The profounder and the believer of the theory of Fearism argue that we have to learn to “fly with the term fear” and to bring it to life to bear new fruits. Arupa Patangia Kalita‟s stories have depth that explore multi themes including fearism, and a systematic and scientific study on her writings from a new perspective like Philosophy of Fearism can bring into light the unexplored aspects of literature, hopefully, helpful for the new research scholar in the coming days.

Note: This article was published in under given journal. With the permission of author and convence for reader, I published.

Paper ID: SR231121191911 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR231121191911 1550 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN: 2319-7064 SJIF (2022): 7.942 Volume 12 Issue 11, November 2023 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY

References

[1] Fisher, R. M. (2017). Eco - Philosophy of Fearism and Ecocriticism: In an Age of Terror. Technical paper, 68, Fearlessness Research Institute, Canada.

[2] Kalita, A. P. (2020). the loneliness of hira barua. New Delhi: Macmillan.

[3] Kalita, A. P. (2015). Written in Tears, translated by Ranjita Biswas. New Delhi: HARPERPERENNIAL.

[4] R. M. Fisher. (2022). Philosophy of Fearism. Xlibris.

[5] Rai, N. (2018, 2 September). "Philosophy of Fearism" is a unique Philosophy. Naya Patrika, Daily, Kathmandu, Nepal.

[6] Subba, D. (2023, 08/08/2023). FEARMORPHOSIS - Man is a fear Sisyphus being watched by Panopticans. Australia: Xlibris.

[7] Subba, D. (2014). Philosophy of Fearism: Life is conducted, Directed and Controlled by the fear. Xlibris.

[8] A. O. Kalu. (2017). The First Stage of the Fearologist. CrateSpace publishers.

[9] Camus, A. (1955). The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. Vintage Books.

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Facing Fearlessly Political Reality 2023-24

Let's Make the Fearlessness Movement Ning Grow and Strengthen in 2024

Hello All Fearlessness Movement ning members. As the year 2023 winds down and 2024 horizon can be seen now, it is a good time to get honest and speak truths. I have my own biases about what is the most important phenomenon going on globally, which is top position in terms of quick and deadly impacts. I am speaking about the political scene. On behalf of the need to awaken from the paralyzation of most of us from ongoing onslaughts of fear/terror/anxiety, I am convinced we have alternatives, and the path of fearlessness is a viable 'fear' vaccine that can be adopted and nourished. Let's work together to organize and grow this Fearlessness Movement. Pass around to your friends the link of this website, share it on your social media and make your endorsements if you feel called. [contact me to help out: r.michaelfisher52 [at] gmail.com

We can increase our membership and activities here and in your neighborhoods, but we have to attract more members to gain momentum. Currently the 2023 year is ending with 146 FM ning members and this number has remained roughly about the same all year long, with slow increases, and some leaving etc. As founder and host of the FM ning, I pay $330/ year for us to have this online community presence. I'd like help to pay for that and I'd like a whole lot more people to post here and create energy of ideas and actions to make the world a better place using a unique set of frameworks in which to do that--of which, our improved learning about fear and fearlessness is core and central and essential. I am not interested in adding to the Fear Problem by acting in ways that are not based in fearlessness as the objective below and motivating the good changes we want. 

Let's Not Ignore the Real Development of World Politics

I thought to copy an excerpt from a very good article on the threats of authoritarian populism (mostly far right wing, but also some left wing) in the political sphere. This excerpt by a reliable source at the organization "Othering & Belonging Institute" out of UC Berkeley, is published by Democracy & Belonging Forum, Dec. 20, 2023. Take a special note of the paragraph summary that speaks of the zeitgeist and potency of fear and anger feeding each other to drive the populism into a frenzy and effective dominant force on this planet. Enjoy reading, and let's talk about this and other topics related in 2024. 

 

Daring to Dream

by Míriam Juan-Torres (December 20, 2023)

Connecting the Dots #17

The year 2023 has been full of violence. Civilian deaths continue to rise in Gaza and Ukraine. The horrors of the Hamas attacks against Israeli civilians are ongoing. It took a day for Azerbaijan to seize Nagorno-Karabakh and displace thousands of Armenians, while at the same time the humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to deteriorate under the radar. And these are only a few examples. 

Violence does not only come in the form of war though. 

And as the year comes to an end and I try to reflect on the months passed, I sometimes wonder if, as I am constantly steeped in research on authoritarian populism, my perspective is too clouded by the negatives. Yet no matter where I look, whether it’s in international news, progressive spaces, or far-right forums, the pervasive sensation I observe is usually a combination of anxiety, fear, and anger. But again, is this new or worse? When has the world been fair? When have we inhabited a planet where all belong?

Yet some dare to dream outrageous dreams and their dreams come true. In November, far-right leader Geert Wilders’ electoral victory in the Netherlands and Javier Milei’s in Argentina caught many by surprise. Wilders is a politician with more than 20 years of political experience who only a few years ago was convicted for hate speech and continues to run an explicitly Islamophobic campaign (for more on the plethora of Dutch populist parties see here).  Javier Milei is a political newcomer who runs on an anarchocapitalist platform and applauds the Argentinian dictatorship, idolizes guns, and challenges women’s rights. 

Wilders and Milei are not the only authoritarian populists who recently came to power through free and fair elections. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni is the most notorious of the bunch and, if I am not mistaken she was the first female authoritarian populist to become prime minister ever (she was elected in late 2022). In Slovakia, far-right politician Robert Fico returned to power by centering anti-Ukrainian sentiment, after having resigned in 2018 during his second term following the murder of Ján Kuciak, an investigative reporter, and his fiancee, Martina Kušnírová. Still, despite how his last term ended, he now intends to restrict media freedom

All of them and many others believed that their big bets could yield results. And they did.

Dreaming big, however, takes courage. And while authoritarian populists such as Wilders and Milei, Meloni, and Fico seem to have courage aplenty, the lesson that mainstream politicians are drawing is that the only way to combat the surge of authoritarian populism is to adopt their frames. The President of the European People’s Party at the EU Parliament (the EPP is the center-right, pro-European political party which gathers over 83 parties from 44 countries), Manfred Weber, recently made this evident during some of his first remarks on the back of Geert Wilders’ victory by concluding that adopting the far-rights’ postures on immigration is the only way to prevent the rise of the far right. There’s no alternative vision, no inclusive dream. 

The constant whitewashing of Meloni’s image by EU leaders and the media also reflects how as long as authoritarian populist leaders keep in line with economics and foreign policy, the rest of Europe can turn a blind eye to whatever happens in “internal politics.” 

 

To me, this mostly demonstrates one of the biggest threats to democracy and human rights in Europe—the collusion, the blending, the normalization, and the incorporation of authoritarian populist ideas and actors into the mainstream. The branding of those ideas as the only solution to complex challenges. The alternative to rejecting authoritarian populism frames is not to say that there are no problems, that migration is not a relevant issue, that people aren't struggling, that fear is unreasonable. Or to delegitimize voters who vote for far-right candidates. But presenting the far-rights’ solutions as the only reasonable options shows at best a failure of imagination and at worst a cynical lack of commitment to justice and human rights.

The year 2024 will be a definitive year on many fronts. 

We are less than three months away from Super Tuesday in the United States of America, when Donald Trump will likely win the nomination as the Republican candidate. The November 2024 US general elections could very well yield a victory for Trump, and historical examples show us that a second term by an authoritarian populist is far more dangerous, as they come equipped with lessons from their first term and can double down on their authoritarian practices. Some, like historian Robert Kagan, have been keen to emphasize that a Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. In the meantime, across the US, Republican governors continue to (ab)use preemptive laws to circumscribe what cities and counties can do, targeting abortion, and LGBTQ and voting rights, often in majority-minority localities. 

European Parliament elections are scheduled for June 2024. Turnout at EU elections across the continent is notoriously low, yet historically they are the elections where the far right have had some success while failing nationally. Albeit in the past they didn’t have enough representation to wield significant power, their presence at the EU Parliament provided a platform for far-right leaders like British Nigel Farage to deliver attention-grabbing performances. While their national results are clearly shifting, far-right candidates are also projected to have record-high results in the upcoming EU election. The largest group is still projected to be the European People’s Party, which in the past generally adopted a cordon sanitaire approach to far-right parties (a joint agreement to refuse to cooperate with the far right), but now is increasingly coalescing with it. 

For the first time, the possibility of a far-right-dominated European Union seems very real. 

This would have severe implications for European citizens, as several big reforms will be underway during the new year. While the green transition continues, authoritarian populists and center-right populists are increasingly challenging green policies. Elected officials across Europe aim to conclude a migration pact in 2024, and unfortunately it seems we can only expect further securitization and outsourcing of state violence and border management to third party states that are often authoritarian. And I am also keeping an eye on a new EU Defence of Democracy package. The draft proposal has been advanced with the goal of trumping foreign influence of lobbying groups, but includes provisions affecting civil society organizations as well. According to Transparency International, the “demand for civil society organisations to disclose foreign funding risks designating them as foreign agents, which could expose civil society to unwarranted and perilous stigmatisation.” We have seen in Russia, India, Hungary, and Italy how the targeting of NGOs and attempts to limit their international funding is amongst the first authoritarian practices of elected far-right leaders.

Even though the results are predictable, the coming year will also see presidential elections in Russia, where around 110 million will be able to vote, including, for the first time, parts of Ukraine under the control of Russian forces (it seems like a good time to bring back to memory the statements of the Kremlin’s spokesperson: “Our presidential election is not really democracy, it is costly bureaucracy [...] Mr. Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90 percent of the vote.”)

India is also expected to celebrate general elections in 2024 and Prime Minister Narendra Modhi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to reign supreme, and thus expected to continue its persecution of journalists and Muslims while cracking down on civil liberties

That being said, while the playing field is extremely uneven in Russia, in India, PM Modi seems to boast unprecedented levels of approval for prime ministers who are officially elected, raising the question of how – as people committed both to belonging and democracy – we confront the authoritarian lurch of democratically elected and widely supported authoritarian populists leaders, a question that is likely to become more and more important. 

Nonetheless, I also have hopes for 2024. 

This year will be the year of a new government in Poland. After a long road, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government was sworn in on December 13. Tusk will be able to govern thanks to a coalition that includes moderate center-right politicians as well as progressives, and has stated that “his government would focus on restoring the rule of law and respect for the constitution.”

I am also hoping that the authoritarian populist victories we have seen in 2023 will be a more definitive wakeup call, and that we will cease to see the far-right surge with surprise. [cont'd].... 

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FEARMORPHOSIS 2

Bert Pursoo, Cebu
 
This Post deals with Fear as postulated by Desh Subba, the Hong-Kong based Nepali thinker/philosopher. In a look at the theory of Fearism, B. Maria Kumar asks:
 
Why do we have to live; what is the purpose of our existence?
 
Do we live in order to?
     
      1. attain the kingdom of God
 
      2. seek pleasure and avoid pain
 
      3. preempt suffering
 
      4. realize ouer true potential by making choices freely
 
      5. accept absurdities and rebel against odds and uncertainties so as to find meaning in life,
 
In 1. Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish theologian links our purpose as being to exist in the service of God - too obtuse for me.
 
In 2. Indian sage Charvaka mirrors the philosophy of Epicureanism, which is concerned with glorifying pleasure and abhorring pain.
 
In 3. The Buddha is concerned with finding a way to preempt suffering.
 
In 4. Sartre posits that life has purpose because it enables us to make free choices, which sounds a bit like Freewill.
 
In 5. however, Camus - a complex philosopher wonders if living isn’t about accepting absurdities so that we can find reasons to rebel against odds and uncertainties in our effort to find the meaning of life.
 
While all of the above appear plausible, Dr. Subba not only challenges but seems to reject them all. He insists that from his study of the human condition, life is conducted, directed and controlled by fear and by extension all our thoughts and actions are a function of fear.
 
Subba engages in deductive logic to support his argument tracing the volatile state of contemporary unstable human affairs back to the original cause. He does, however, suggest ways and means as to how the uncertainties and insecurities could be dealt with rationally and credibly towards the end of his book Fearmorphosis. 
 
Subba looks at the philosophy of Kafka, who states that the human condition as we know it is absurd. Kafka jokes (I imagine) that humans were created in one of God’s bad days and hence, there is no way to make meaning of life. To bolster his case of absurdity Subba points to the situation of Camus’s Sisyphus, condemned to repeat the same absurd and meaningless task ad infinitum. And moreover, Subba challenges the notion that man is a thinking animal, a social being or a political specie. Does he pay homage to the term Homo sapiens? It doesn’t really appear so, having placed sapience in a tertiary position, with fear-stricken man a close secondary. He does, however, accept as first that man is a free animal at the instant of birth in conformity with Rousseau, who claims that humans, unlike other creatures, are born free agents but subsequently becomes a stranger to himself as the result of fear.
 
In his self-imposed state of apparent wisdom, Subba laments that we are all aliens to our own self and sympathizes with all humans because of the fact that everybody’s fate is similar to that of Sisyphus. Subba, by looking into Kafka’s Samsa concludes that the metamorphosis is the result of fear as we struggle to find and also to express our own identity in an ever-changing world. Now, while Kafka is obsessed with the concept of the absurdity of it all, Subba sees Sisyphus as a resultant product of the fear that he himself created while moving in his existential journey and from which he now cannot extricate himself.
 
Subba sees fear in everything, in various forms of constructs. Born free but metamorphosed into a fear-ridden being, Sisyphus consequently becomes victimized as a scapegoat, as a surveillance target and also as an exploited proletarian - simply because he cannot disobey the unjust dictates of his authoritarian gods. But it is only his self-imposed fear which forces him to blindly carry out these destructive commands.
 
Stanley Milgram, American psychologist, along with others like Britain’s Lord Acton, Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, and South African leader Steven Biko came to the same conclusion that it is fear of losing power that drives people in authority; and the fear of survival that forces those at the receiving end to succumb to the dictates of the gods in much the same way that Sisyphus was induced to toe the line.
 
One has to admit that despite the logical direction, Subba’s dialectics do seem rather pessimistic. But Subba is far from an inveterate pessimist. His has a technique to counteract this apparent nihilism uplifting human thinking. He now seems to move away from his Sisyphusianism in exchange for one in which he has complete faith in the indomitable spirit and willpower of humanity. To solve the puzzling fear conundrum, he resorts to the Fearlessness paradigm as postulated by R. Michael Fisher, a Canadian philosopher and educator who conceived and formulated its essentials, including the premise that fear must be looked at from both sides, in much the same way we recognize that to understand good we need to understand bad also.
 
Since fear, according to the good doctor, propels the individual to perceive people, things and situations as absurd, restricted and hostile, Subba points out that a fearless spirit can certainly turn the tide. He exudes confidence that his fear-morphed Sisyphus will be able to navigate adeptly through the frightened global landscape if he is capable of reshaping himself as fearlessness-tempered. No doubt, it is within the control of Sisyphus himself to achieve freedom from fear and this, then, is the message that Subba delivers to the world in his book.
 
I do recognize that fear does play a significant role in one’s behaviour, thoughts and plans from all directions. What I have difficulty accepting is that it constitutes the sole reason for all our actions. According to Subba, the wife demonstrates and displays love and affection for her husband out of fear that failing to do is likely to cause her to lose him, making her actions one of mere survival. I have to look to a middle road, with fear on one side and genuine desire on the other side. I do agree, nonetheless, that we would never be able fully disregard Sisyphus and that feeling of being a scapegoat.
According to Subba’s philosophy of fearmorphosis, the love or satisfaction I derive from say working as an educator or playing professional tennis is based on the fear of not having that satisfaction, which he sees as something I have convinced myself is something I need to survive. I can rid myself of this fear if I reshape myself as a fearless tempered self which would allow me to adeptly navigate our frightened global landscape, but Subba does not go into details as to how we can achieve this and reach the end of the rainbow, at least as far as I am able to see.
12/06/2023
 
This article is shared by author after reading "Opinion: Brewing Freedom From Fear" by B. Maria Kumar. Article was published from Hyderabad, India in Telangana Daily on first of December, 2023. It was one of the best Fearmorphosis article. Author has posted it in his Facebook page The Philosophical Factory (Public Forum). With his permission, it is re-published here. -D. Subba
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12308910472?profile=RESIZE_710x

 

EDUCATION, it's history recently and its roots and routes, related to fear/insecurity and economics, is really important to understand and critique today. I am impressed with this particular lecture by activist-film-maker author Astra Taylor, who tells of this connection.

Go to: https://www.cbc.ca/radiointeractives/ideas/2023-cbc-massey-lectures-astra-taylor/lecture-3-consumed-by-curiosity

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"Learning to Care in an Age of Insecurity"... these are the words on my tongue... *

OK. Fearlessness Project (religion) has been on my mind for centuries and in 1989 it came to brith [1]. It's about time to renew this blogpost 3 yrs ago on the FM ning. It is on my mind these days to start-up with a group, or just lead it myself(?).. an iteration in the 21st century of The League for Fearlessness-II, and I'm imagining the content for this. [Note: I never did publish more of my research into the group from 1931, I guess there wasn't enough interest from readership in 2020 and after]. The intriguing thing for me today is thinking about how would I start writing such a brochure and what would be some of its key 21st century notions, much different but with overlap, from the 20th century version. Let me know if you are interested to work on this project. 

The League for Fearlessness- birthed in 1931

8094278480?profile=RESIZE_710x

There's a long story behind my finding this 4 pp. fold-out brochure in a medical library in New York City. It is the only evidence currently available on this group [1] that was apparently started under the guidance of the famous theosophists, Alice & Foster Bailey. Since 2006, when I found this brochure (which I made in color, aged, and adapted with a few excerpts here only using photoshop), I have been searching for answers to the mystery of where this group and The League 'disappeared' and why no traces. Currently, the fine folks at Lucis Trust, NY, are attempting to search into this. Curiously, no body in the current big American theosophical organizations has heard of this League but they do suspect the Bailey's were quite likely to have taken on initiating such a project. IF anyone has any leads to finding out more about this group, let me know: 

r.michaelfisher52@gmail.com

But besides that fascinating historical evidence, and a story yet told, I wanted to share the brochure today, it seems appropriate as just 5 days away from one of the most important elections ever in U.S. history. The level of tension, fear, dread, etc. is palpable. It's also in my dreams. And, so, I thought it would be good to share these words, ideas, and spirit of fearlessness from this group in 1931, of which North America was deep in the Depression and fear was rampant. If you haven't already picked-up the nuanced connection between The League's mission and my own via the In Search of Fearlessness Project (1989- ) and later, founding the In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute (1991- )--and, the uncanny sense of a paralleling historical soul-based work that is wanting to go on in this world, it is so obvious to me--and yet, struggles of resistances to manifest this Project effectively are so powerful as well. To say it bluntly, there is no such project that has such a systematic well-thought out "program" to improve fear management and remove fear on the planet as a barrier to the evolution of consciousness. This is powerful beyond words. I wished, in retrospect, I would have found this brochure in 1989--boy, that would have made a big difference! But, that's the way it is. 

End Note

1. Just recently, I have attained a few documents on this group, I am reviewing, and will keep you posted with updates, if you let me know you are interested. 

* A variant theme arrived after, which is more accurate to Barbara and my visioning and planning: "CARING ABOUT CARING, IN AN AGE OF ANXIETY" 

End Note (for this blogposting)

1. "Religion" sounds awefully strong I know. I could have said "spirituality" or "philosophy" and I could have not mentioned this at all. I suppose it was thrown in just now [a week after I posted this all] because of my critical reflective journaling on what it is that I am doing and attempting to ignite on this planet. I wrote, that the In Search of Fearlessness Project 1989- came as if from centuries before there was an 'I' or 'prophetic moment' of encountering with this truth path and revelation. But everything I can write and publish and teach on fear and fearlessness, really won't make sense until the total context of it is understood by others. It is a religion--meaning a religio (a return to source connectivity and sanity thereof) and it is a therapy--meaning a therapia (a philosphical therapeutic corrective in metaphysical dimensions and structural dimensions of the evolution of consciousness and dysplasia within that developmental circuitry) and, it is an education--meaning edu-care . I have qualified, using Latin words for what I am onto and called to bring out to this planet's evolution. A much longer discussion of course. And, as for the religio of fearlessness, if you attune to it, and go beyond what most "religions" are these days and in the past, you'll perhaps come into a new learning and imaginary of another kind (aka for the 21st century). You'll have the potential to see what I see, or know what I know, and to breathe and to move to action. A religio of fearlessness has never been strange to me since its inception in late 1989, however, I am not one to go around talking or promoting religion. That said, in my 2010 first major book published [2] I went so far as to see (and act out) that I could easily articulate a first draft of a "Credo of Fearlessness" (see pp. 39, 126, 205, 214). That Credo came about as a reflecting on what it was that is going on with this whole fear and fearlessness thing. Indeed, Credo's are part of all religions pretty much. 

2. Fisher, R. M. (2010). The world's fearlessness teachings: A critical integral approach to fear management/education for the 21st century. Lanham, MD. University Press of America/Rowman & Littlefield. 

 

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