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.
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.
Comments
Congratulations Linda and Desh for putting the effort into clarifying the thinking of philosophy of fearism founder, Desh Subba. I think you have given us some basics here to spin from. Interesting questions were formed by Linda and now, I would like to hear Linda respond critically and reflectively on Desh's answers. That would make this more interesting.