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Four Arrows                                                        and                          R. Michael Fisher 

This interview (FearTalk #27) has some interesting words of wisdom from the Indigenous scholar Four Arrows (Dr. D. T. Jacobs). 

Published 2019.

Stein makes it look like he has something so "new" and "miraculous" and he is going to inspire "hope" (an often repeated word in his lexicon and that of his book endorsers). Btw, I as a critical integralist philosopher of education gave up on hope long ago for a much better concept of "fearlessness" (for 21st century meta-theorizing and thinking)....In conclusion, "the book is radical but not radical enough."

Book Review (Commentary)  

As many reviewers here [on Amazon.com books] or those following Zak Stein's work comment--it is obvious his bright IQ and sincere passion shines through. This book is his first systematic compilation of those traits he has honed. He is the kind of progressive futurists polymath philosopher of education the world needs.

Dr. Michael Schwartz (book endorsement) is right on saying that planetary thinkers are required in all fields today but especially in Education so as to grow "the critical-integral imagination" for what Stein calls, "Human identities [that] will need to be world-centric" for a new and better humanity (p. 2). That’s a high-bar demand.

Stein from the beginning in his Preface: “Integral Paideia” tells us his book is going to be "radical" in approach, with a rarified vision for a sane future for Education. He says we will need "educational activism and innovation as a political instantiation of emancipatory philosophy" and a "meta-ethics" for "the global meta-crisis" (p. 7). So, by this time with all these big concepts you get the sense this is a pretty heady treatise by a heady guy, who got his Ph.D. at Harvard University. Nothing wrong with that, and he doesn't apologize for "a long and complex book" (p. 5). I found this Preface to the book made up of his several pre-published essays, 'big sounding' very clever and intriguing--but it is nothing new--nor all that radical, from my perspective as a radical educator for 50 years. Many have treaded the waters and shaken mountains in progressive and alternative and "integral" education philosophizing and activism before Zak Stein. Stein can offer all the "social miracles" he offers to the field of Education (and the world) in his Chapter 4, and those are wonderful aims for a futures thinking about education overall. Fine. They again, are not just all that new or radical. Stein makes out in the Preface of his book and often in his writing that he is the 'savior' foraging ahead down the path with his radical sword of words, concepts, and high level consciousness (integral-speak). Yes, he is a brilliant leader to watch for. I just find it more than annoying that his work in this book is compared to John Dewey, or William Irwin Thompson (as 2 book endorsers do)--that's just silly.

Stein is a newbie to the field of Education and yes, his gifts are welcome. However, let's be clear, beyond the fancy marketing title of the book "Education in a Time Between Worlds" and all his big meta-speak, that several critical (and integral) educators have forged before him and I wished he would have given them much more due in his Preface, or to even have written a respectful nod to his predecessors in an “Introduction” chapter to his essays therein would have satisfied me that he is a scholar who has done his homework on "Integral Education."

That's right, the real working through of this book is in the sub-field of alternative education and specifically "Integral Education" --which, I and Stein would likely rather call "Critical Integral Education"--which honours via the "critical" insertion that we are after an even more radical and (r)evolutionary integral thinking than most in the Integral Community. He wrote, "I use integral theory" (highly influenced by philosopher Ken Wilber) to critique existing systems and to explore the need for and possibility of a radically different social world" (p. 4). Long before Zak Stein, I was doing the same thing and were other educators but Stein mostly ignores citing our work or engaging the sub-field of Integral Education. His essays are not meant to do that, which is fine; yet, he could have written an Introduction to so give due to predecessors of his "new" approach to Education.

The book isn't radical enough from a critical integral philosopher's perspective, like mine, or other philosophers of education I work with--and, it ignores the Indigenous worldview critique of all Euro-centric thinking about education as Four Arrows does. And Stein ignores (for e.g.) the potent critiques of counter-education by the late Ilan Gur-Ze'ev, who's thinking in both these examples, is brilliant and original in terms of (r)evolutionary philosophy for education and societal transformation. But, no use getting picky here what Stein left out, I'm merely saying he ought to have seen Wilber's theory (at least) is a new branch of Critical Theory (a point made by Dr. Jack Crittenden (1997, p. x) in the Foreword to Wilber's book "Eye to Eye." Yes, Zak Stein is saying about integral theory what others have already said about its critical capacity for aligning (in part) with the Critical Theory schools of cultural-political criticism and particularly all those critical theorists and pedagogues who have worked so hard for a hundred years more or less to revolutionize the way Education ought to take a leading role in forging and shaping societies rather than the current backseat regime of education in N.A. today. Again, Stein offers in the book little to no connection with his predecessors here and the linking of integral (meta-theory) with critical theory and educational emancipatory traditions.

Stein makes it look like he has something so "new" and "miraculous" and he is going to inspire "hope" (an often repeated word in his lexicon and that of his book endorsers). Btw, I as a critical integralist philosopher of education gave up on hope long ago for a much better concept of "fearlessness" (for 21st century meta-theorizing and thinking) --but that’s another topic and one I wish "integralists" were more up-to-date on; but again, Stein hasn't read or cited my work to engage it and I have offered him many opportunities to do so. In that regard, also there is virtually nothing I can see in scanning the book about the "Affective Turn" in philosophy and education and its crucial role in any future (r)evolutionary movement (integral or otherwise). This is because Stein is so "cognitive" heavy, like many of his teachers he admires so much (e.g., Wilber, Marc Gafni). Oh, and btw, even if Stein says in the book "I am no Wilberian" (p. 3) to try to distance himself from any of the negative associations that might bring to his career and leadership in the future, sorry to say: Stein is indeed a Wilberian and Gafnian, by any standard. Though, I think he just needs to use a more discerning language that (and I agree) he is critical of such big thinkers, independent too in his thought and practices but being a Wilberian is not near as enclosing as being a Wilberite (acolyte of Ken Wilber). I myself am a Wilberian going back as far as 1982 and Stein only came to Wilber's work in the 21st century in grad school.

Finally, the book is a bit of a travesty on the level of quality of production, as I see it. It lacks some basic scholarly and just common sense components--re: design. If Stein wants more quality in the field and embrace of Education for a better world, he better ensure quality in his book productions. My copy of the book deteriorated in my hands with just a few hours of reading, pages falling out of binding which is of cheapest grade; as well when I used a yellow highlight on the paper the paper buckles because it is so thin and low grade. For a futurist book and guide in times of tumult ahead, you'd  think a quality book so brilliant (and published by Brilliant Alliance) would be consistent with the contexts it is produced in.

And, then, most annoying is the lack of attention and effort made by the author and publisher to create an Index for the book. Really! I find it astounding that was not included in a thick and complex scholarly book like this. Now, if the book was readily online to be searched in digital, I could forgive this error--but the book is not searchable on line that I could find. This really limits researchers like myself being able to access what is in the book and what is left out and where biases lie on the author's part. An Index allows one to assess much of that within minutes. So, now I have to read every page to find things I am searching for.

In conclusion, the book is radical but not radical enough, and that would take a long essay to argue but I have at least made a few indicators to point to where Stein is not really fully thoughtful enough about "schools" and their future, but also neglectful about Critical Integral Education. Fundamentally, his book is about this topic of Integral Education and he could have been really radical—really real—and, addressed those pioneer predecessors and contemporaries in the sub-field of Integral Education and all the hard work they are doing in philosophy, theory and on the ground in the experiments in education overall. I mean it doesn't speak well for me, on first blush, that Stein ignores (for e.g.) the higher education experiments going on around the globe in Integral Education (for e.g., at the University of Calgary, my old alma mater, where a Masters in Education program has existed for like 10+ years now as teachers or school administrators wanting an MEd degree can study Integral Theory as their specialist stream). And, all this is missed in Stein's integral education book--and vision(?)

 -R. Michael Fisher (Oct. 4/24)

Amazon.com book review [they did not publish and gave no reason why]

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 Note: for those interested in my further support and critique of Zak Stein's work go to my essay some years ago: 

https://prism.ucalgary.ca/items/75fdaa1c-d49b-48b2-a47e-13d88901f6e8

Curious what you all think of this meta-theory (aka integral meta-theory) of learning? 

My first recorded FearTalk #1 (2018), with Four Arrows (Wahinkpe Topa, aka Dr. Don T. Jacobs) was the first opportunity to talk with an Indigenous-based scholar and activist-educator about the topic of fear and fearlessness. We got into talking about "aesthetics of fear" as perhaps a better alternative (more Indigenous) way to understand fear. Take a listen to this spontaneous dialogue. 

My second recorded FearTalk #12 (2021) with Four Arrows. In this talk we both again arrive back and remember "Indigenizing & Fearlessnessizing" --independently, and collectively, as a fundamental way to carry forward education for all in the 21st century. There is no other educator who is open and so progressive to want to address this topic with me, and excitingly we are going to do our 3rd FearTalk on this in the next few days, so stay tuned. 

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Note: for those who want to read up on Indigenizing and Fearlessnessizing by Four Arrows and myself, brought specifically into dialogue and critique with the field of Critical Pedagogy, go to: 

Four Arrows & Fisher, R. M. (2020). Section V Indigenous ways of knowing. In S. R. Steinberg & B. Down (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of critical pedagogies Vol. 2 (pp.547-49). SAGE. 

Fisher, R. M., & Four Arrows (2020). Indigenizing conscientization and critical pedagogy: Integrating Nature, Spirit and Fearlessness as foundational concepts. In S. R. Steinberg & B. Down (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of critical pedagogies Vol. 2 (pp.551-60). SAGE. 

Dr. Arie Kizel, Israel                                       and                      Dr. R. Michael Fisher, Canada 

In this recent dialogue (FearTalk #26), these two educators dive deep into the organizational ideology of "pedagogy of fear" in socialization and schooling, and they offer a way out of this "prison" via critical open thinking as philosophical inquiry for/with children. 

Desh Subba and Jamila Khattak (Ph.D Scholar)

Host: Jamila Khattak (Ph.D Scholar)

Jamila Khattak Ph.D scholar in education at Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi, Pakistan. I have expertise in research field on different topics and focus on teachers and students collaboration and training. Fear in students is very Fear in students often manifests as anxiety and stress related to academic performance, peer relationships, and future uncertainties. This emotional response can negatively impact their cognitive functions, such as concentration, memory, and problem-solving abilities, hindering their overall learning experience. Understanding and addressing these fears through supportive educational environments, counseling, and stress management strategies is crucial for fostering resilience and promoting academic success.

Guest: Desh Subba
Introduction:
Desh Subba is a renowned philosopher, author, and the founder of the Fearism movement, which explores fear as a driving force in human life and society. Born in Nepal, Subba has significantly contributed to contemporary philosophy by examining the multifaceted nature of fear and its impact on personal and collective behaviors. His seminal work, "Fearism," has garnered international recognition, inspiring discussions on how fear can be transformed from a hindrance into a motivational force. Subba's insights have resonated globally, particularly among youth, encouraging a reevaluation of fear's role in achieving success and personal growth.

Jamila: What is fear, and how does it manifest in our lives?

Desh Subba: In a normal introduction, it is an emotion, sense, feeling, and consciousness. What we understand is similar to other emotions. I call it general fear. It comes from the mind. Another comes from the amygdala part of the brain, which I call special fear. The amygdala is a
primitive part of the four parts of the brain. It only looks at fear. Our senses send a message to this part. It responds, and other senses follow its instructions. In Fearism, I talk about general and special fears.

Understanding Fear
Jamila: How can fear be a barrier to achieving success and personal growth?
Desh Subba: Most people understand fear as a barrier. Many authors and philosophers carry the same meaning. It is a dark part like Yang of Yin Yang Chinese philosophy. Our contribution to contemporary philosophy is looking at it from multiple approaches. In simple words, proper use of fear is a motivation. Higher and lower is evil. Even if we drink more milk, it is harmful. If we have excess fear it is a barrier. For example, a student knows all the answers to the question. He gets nervous and panics, and he fails the exam. Suppose for exam students
don't fear, do careless, they are unsuccessful. Some students fear too much for exams, and they also fail. So, they must have virtue fear (medium fear). It makes them successful in life. This formula is also applicable to teachers. Every professional has to follow it, for instance, doctors, drivers, pilots, heads of government, heads of any institution.

Historical and Contemporary Examples
Jamila: Are there historical or contemporary examples of individuals who have transformed their fear into success?
Desh Subba: There are many examples of it. We can see many speakers, they say, at the beginning, I could not speak because of fear, and hesitation. Slowly I controlled it myself and became a motivational speaker, singers, artists, teachers, and spiritual leaders. It is very useful
for those who are shy, hesitant, nervous, introverted, and have some phobias. Girls can benefit from this idea particularly those who are dominated by culture, religion, and tradition. It is shown in movies and fiction books.

Psychological Mechanisms
Jamila: What psychological mechanisms allow people to convert fear into motivation?

Desh Subba: At present many people are suffering from hypertension, depression, anxiety, and mental health. The doctor gives medicine to them but does not try to reach the depth of the sickness. So, their treatment is not successful. Several suicide cases are increasing day by day. When exam result comes, some students do suicide. Cause of it, they define failure in the exam. It is the general understanding of parents and teachers. It is not the bottom cause. It is factual. Transcendence causes vary. A dark future, prestige, and unsuccessful life are the cause. At the bottom is fear of the dark and failure of life. If we examine the reason for depression, anxiety, and mental problems, in most cases we find fear. During my philosophical tour, I reached northeast India Manipur. I met a chairman of a literary organization. He said he is a depression patient. I asked him, "How did you become a depression patient?" He told me, he misused some amount of organization. He was tense and worried about how to repay that amount. It was his starting point. It means fear of loss of prestige, reputation, arrest, and more crises. When we dig the depths of any crisis, we reach into fear. It was left by psychology and medical science. Lots
of analysis I have done on it.

Practical Strategies
Jamila: What are some practical strategies or techniques for harnessing fear as a positive force?
Desh Subba: Everything can be seen from Fearism's multiple eyes. When we see a beautiful flower, we observe it from different corners. If we think it is poisonous, then, it changes into poisonous though we don't experience it. Fear is the same. For a long time, it has been
understood as poisonous and harmful. First, we need to metamorphose this meaning into beautiful, fragrant, positive, and motivational. It helps us in succeeding in our lives. Suppose a person fears speaking in mass. Day by day his exercise helps him to get success. I was very
shy, dreadful to speak, and nervous. I was invited to give a lecture about Fearism at Hong Kong University. I have only a graduate degree and English is not my language. I am very weak in spoken and written English. The date was 26 March 2015. This university is ranked 18 in the
world this year. It is a very famous university. I must had to speak to promote my idea. What should I do? I didn't want to miss this chance. My sister gifted me an old-model Nokia phone. Everyday 1 minute I record and practice. Around a month later, I became confident that I could speak. It was my first English lecture. I spoke for one and a half hours. If a person can speak for one minute, he can easily speak for three hours. This is a practical strategy. Everyone can experiment with it.

Role of Self-Awareness
Jamila: How does self-awareness play a role in overcoming fear?
Desh Subba: All the fear we don't have to overcome. It cannot be overcome because it is a consciousness that emerges from the brain. American scientists did an experiment taking out the amygdala of a rat. The rat lost consciousness and went to play with the cat because the rat's fear was removed. It staggered on the way, out of control. Self-awareness is important. Suppose a man is going to suicide. He thinks he cannot repay the loan and interest. It is his understanding. After almost jumping from the height, he enlightened that "I was not going to
suicide because of the loan, I was going to kill myself because of fear of it. I can pay it on an installment basis." Before he had a boulder of fear, now he metamorphosed it into pieces- installments. It means a big fear is divided into tiny parts. It is a self-awareness of fear. It saves
his life.

Supportive Environments
Jamila: How can individuals create a supportive environment that encourages overcoming fear?
Desh Subba: Those intellectuals or teachers can create a Supportive Environment that understands Fearism and its school of thought. They need to understand the quotes of it, life is conducted, directed, and controlled by fear, and we are Fear Sísyphus being watched by
Panopticon. Religion, myth, psychology, literature, politics, criticism, and belief systems consist of it. When they look at life, education, society, health care, law, constitution, morality, and ethics from this theory, people encourage themselves.

Fear and Goal Setting
Jamila: How can setting goals help in transforming fear into motivation?
Desh Subba: A cricket team set a goal to win the World Cup. It is their goal. They must keep a fear of defeat. Fear of defeat is not negative, it is a positive because it forwards them. If a team does not keep it, they will be careless and not concentrate on the game. Fear of loss unites the team and focuses on the match. Ultimately, they win and share happiness. Not only do players become happy, but a nation celebrates bliss. That's why I said, Happiness doesn't have self- stand, it stands on fear. I give an example that is fit for a developed and underdeveloped
country. Pakistan and some corrupt, nepotist countries do not fear the law and people. They hold all powers and bureaucrats. They do what they like to do. No fear of law and order for them. It is the reason the country became an unsuccessful state. On the contrary, the developed
country has a fear of law and order and more fear from the public. If we are found guilty, we will be punished, they think. This fear stops them from doing illegal things. I am living in Hong Kong. Once our head of city (Chief Executive) was jailed for 20 months because of a
misconduct case. It is the reason, it has a high rank in the world.

Mindfulness and Meditation
Jamila: How can mindfulness and meditation practices contribute to transforming fear?
Desh Subba: Our knowledge of fear is wrong. It scapegoats us. We hate it. Civilization, politics, language, capital, hospital, insurance, fire brigade, army, detective (CIA, KGB, and RAW), and CCTV (paparazzi, newspaper) are for fear purpose or, fear-care. Fear Meditation, fear enlightens and transforms us positively. R. Michael is a specialist in fear management. It is important.

Mentors and Role Models
Jamila:What role do mentors and role models play in helping individuals overcome their fears?
Desh Subba: Almost all your questions are about overcoming fear. We never overcome it. Overcome is our mirage. That's why I coined the quote "Fear is a Sisyphus". When it is up, we bring it down. From down, we push it up. Again it up we bring it down. It repeats all the time.
It is an endless process. To give an example, I have a fear of blood pressure. For the time being it is controlled and that fear ends but not forever. At the same time comes the fear of sugar. Another example, I have a fear of bank installments, so I paid them. Again comes mortgage.

For my latest teaching video on "In Defense of Gen Z, Millennials" go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LajmPaQ_uSk

I argue that an elite (very privileged) "warrior class" (like the Spartans of ancient Greece) are attempting to "toughen up" and "grow up" the younger generations to make them fit for the way the elite class wants to have their way with the world as a whole. This class is also terrified of losing their grip on power and wealth, success and privilege, and they are attacking youth for being "too interior" (touchy-feely) and thus many are over-therapized. The discussion could also be summarized in the fearanalysis of a class of elites who are "deniers" of many major crises going on in the world and how terrifying that is existentially for youth today. I argue they practice adultism and an authoritarian class imperative to be "the conquerers" (of Empire Consciousness)--and, yes, "conservatives." I offer a non-polarizing but more subtle and important critique to their critiques, and ask that we consider the arguments and reality of what it means to move from a coping culture to a healing culture, a fear-based (culture of fear) to a fearlessness society. 

I ask for dialogue and sanity as the older generations have to learn to listen and talk with each other. The young will benefit greatly from our efforts as the older generations. 

Published in 2024, by Information Age Publishing, I highly recommend this book, some of my best writing on fear(lessness) and education. Here's a mere excerpt from the Table of Contents, to excite your neurons:

This 2024 conversation is brought to you by the Apocatastasis Institute for the Humanities (APOC); note: Michael Benner is an entrepreneur and not directly affiliated with APOC nor speaks for APOC. 

https://rumble.com/v4ipndl-fearless-intelligence-a-conversation-with-michael-benner-198.html

Lots to think about in this conversation, and I'll say more after I digest it's contents further. I also am a member of APOC. For the last year, I have brought The Fearology Institute into APOC as an adjunct learning site. I encourage you to look up what it offers, and especially as an alternative education site for alternative teens and young college students. 

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.

Henry A. Giroux

 Professor of Culture and Education and Media Studies, Henry A. Giroux has for over 50 years been critically analyzing "Education" and "Culture" and "Politics" --and the underlying worldview and values that shape the learning and teaching of citizens. Recently he has written an article on "Gangster Capitalism" and argues where we are going, and how even neoliberalism (as 'mainstream' economic ideology) has been failing so badly in some ways, that it needs to now engulf and perpetuate neofascism to survive--meaning, to spread the culture of fear even more virally. Not good. 

[Extract] 

Henry Giroux

I have long been interested in the fate of children in our societies and their enmeshment in cultures of fear--that is, being scared to death, being made to feel so fragile, and being unable to find a resiliency to meet the demanding (often oppressive) challenges of the day and their future. The 21st century is not going to likely be a pretty one, not for a long time that is. How can the path of Fearlessness help? How can we on the FM ning help? Let's have more discussion about children here and the nature and role of fear and fearlessness in their lives. 

One cultural critic has a good short summary of some of the issues Gen Z especially is facing... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvrMNDv6iYU

Not that I agree with everything Johnathan Haidt says about society, but he has some good points to consider. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=552u7yqT-YM

I have followed the sociologist Dr. Frank Furedi's writings (mostly his fear writing) since 1997. I like a good deal of his critiques. Yet, I strongly am not in agreement, for a lot of reasons, with a lot of it--including, and in particular, his biased ideological (materialist = secularist =  exclusionist = traditionalist-modernist) leanings of interpreting the relational, social-cultural and political world. He gets quite reductionist, hyperbolic and extremist at times.

I haven't listened to this particular talk per se by him, but it is always worth a listen. He researches his topics well. He thinks independently and he challenges the stataus quo. 

For the record, I cite his work often in my publications. Sadly, over the years, he has chosen not to cite my work or dialogue with me on the fear topic or education topic (which he also critiques Education often in ways I find stereotypying if not fearmongering itself). 

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Note and Questioning: I am thinking of how a Fearlessness Paradigm is so different in many ways from the Fear Paradigm that Furedi works with in his perspective on society and what is going on. His corrective to the Fear Problem? He is a libertarian (politically and ideologically) as far as I can tell, though I do not think he actually says this explicitly anywhere. He is definitely not in favor of government or any authority body taking over the parent's role with their children on certain interior and moral aspects of their development. He is kind of conservative that way, as an educational thinker. That said, I wonder if the very language of calling a phenomenon life excessive fear, or "culture of fear" (as he also writes about) a "Fear Epidemic" is actually useful and to what end and who does it serve? 

In a Fearlessness Paradigm there is more depth and breadth to conceptualizing the Fear Problem than Furedi wants to make out. And, although that is a much larger topic and critique, suffice it to say here in this blog response that maybe we would benefit more as a culture if we called what he is referring to as a "Timidity Epidemic" or a similar term even less flattering a "Cowardice Epidemic." From within the core of the Fearlessness Paradigm of critical analysis and intervention, the role of the Rebel, and Sacred Warrior (and Magician) archetypes is important in my theorizing of 'what humans need to recover'--and the warrior-spirit is a sacred notion that is able to overcome the cowardice dynamics of a "culture of fear" in ways that I think bring about true emancipatory implications. The latter, I do not see in Furedi's philosophy, theories, historical understanding and in his diagnoses and general interventions of how to improve society.  

The early developmental years are crucial for children when it comes to their relationship with fear/anxiety and other aspects of their innate and conditioned life-orientation to: Is Life Trustable or Is Life Untrustable? [1] There are more people now a days starting to ask questions about what the impact of COVID-19 pandemic (shock and awe and isolation) had on this new crop of COVID children (and their care-givers)? I have not done research on this but I have heard more than one person in the field of education and daycare field talking about this connection. Are the young children especially (but not only) really impacted more negatively by COVID-19 than we can even imagine as adults? Are these a more disregulated and mistrustful, and anxious group of children now who are going to grow up and create a whole lot more problems (and costs) for society, from within families, daycares, schools and beyond? I'm calling this the COVID-Fear-Bubble phenomenon. OF course, it is just speculation at this point. 

On the recovery and rehabilitation side of things, however, there are some good stories of pro-active interventions into children's well being in relationship to fear, for e.g., John Coleman, of the Apocatastasis Institute just published his summary of an article recently published on offering various nature interventions with children to help them overcome some of their fear of nature (and of life itself, perhaps)--see the BEE BRAVE presentation he gives: https://www.bitchute.com/video/P5YqcYT5niyU/

Let's keep the conversation going about fear/anxiety [2] its positive and negative sides, including the impacts of COVID-19 especially and how can we teach not just about being braver, but being more courageous, being more fearless. I have a great deal of experience and research and thoughts about this connection of a spectrum of means in how to live life in a better relationship to fear than being so paralyzed and harmed by its excesses, individually and collectively. So, also check out The Fearology Institute happenings. 

Note: 

1. Life-orientation education, as I am calling it, has many levels of evidence and reality, but there's at least an important one in Erik Erikson's emotional/affect development research and model puts "Trust vs. Mistrust"  (or Love vs. Fear) at the foundational base of child development as universal. My colleague Four Arrows (Dr. Don T. Jacobs) has more or less offered an analogous conceptualization with overlapping meanings and implications in his worldview education distinction. My other fearwork for decades has played with these ideas but only very recently am I seeing how important this is in bringing a universal ethical basis to education--and, philosophically, arguably it is a telos of education..

2. For a good video on fear/anxiety in the individual and coping strategies and the way society conditions us, especially in parenting, and by offering children distractions and other means of "isolation"--there are chronic problems that accrue, especially with the "attachment" bonding ecology, and this is where fear/anxiety will grow, and even panic patterning that will affect people for life--see talk on this by Dr. Gabor Mate' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39RyGEVRbWk

I'm delighted to share the first advertisement for the book my partner and I just completed. It is our second book together on the use of spontaneous creation-making process (we label a "fear vaccine"), in which our first book on our experiences of using this method and the guide for how to do it came out in "Opening Doors: A Guide to Spontaneous Creation-Making" (pubished by In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute). Many years later, in this new book we reflect on the process in greater detail, and offer readers a look at how we applied this method to the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown around most of the world, and for a year we invited a group of people to share this experience creating online and building a community of care. Hope you can take a look at this work, as it also provides a guide of how to use it in any communal setting.  -rmf

A Talk By R. M. Fisher, @ Meditative Inquiry Conference, Aug. 18, 2022 

The link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2H8yByGFYw&list=PLfVjDB_dQhEomgiYYmBJKj1nvD1oGBwaf&index=14

gives access to a Talk I did on the Fearlessness Worldview and its critique of Meditative Inquiry as is being promoted by several people, especially in E. Canada and the field of Education. This is part of a movement of spiritual education and its branches of holistic education, transpersonal education, contemplative education, mindfulness education, peace education, love education, etc. I critique the bias of perspective of all these movements that like to focus and collectivize their "corrective" for the world around virtues signalling and aims of hope. The Fearlessness Worldview, a liberation praxis itself and education process, takes another route, one that is arguably less fear-based, more integral-holistic and wiser than the fault of running after the next fix of 'escape' from fear and suffering and a world so enmeshed in the making of its own crises--at every level and especially at the level of the institutions that fall within the Dominant Worldview and its self-deception and corruption. 

After a brief meditation I offer at the beginning (photo above), I am 2nd to speak on the panel and I start with critical commentary about the problems I see in the book "Meditative Inquiry" based on the conference leader's work. IF you only want to see my teachings go to 25:38 on the video for a 20 min. rather improvisational lecture. And go to 1:10:45 for picking up on comments (Q and A) at the end of the panel session, in which you will hear one philosophy professor from India makes comments on my talk and concludes fervently "we need to be fearful and fearless" --then, I come on and comment on his comment and take the discussion further based on a question someone asked in the panel "define fearlessness." Of course, of which I didn't in a nice clean linear way! I give some reasons for why that is so, and the problem of my topic and this question in the context of having one or two minutes at most to engage it. I really find these rushed-time conference presentations as a format a horrid way to actually do serious scholarly work or dialogue. Oh, well... take this for what it's worth.... 

Of course, in only a 20 min. talk on a panel, it is near impossible to set up my arguments for a Fearlessness Worldview and 

Dr. Cal Newport's TED-X talk "Quit Social Media" is a must see video (13 min.), where he makes 3 arguments of why to stay off social media--and, he emphasizes in the 3rd one of those arguments that the worst is the rise in "anxiety disorders" (diagnosed or not diagnosed) that come with such use of this technology--a technology that is not essential to "deep work" and value and success in the society. 

go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7hkPZ-HTk

As a fearologist and educator, I am equally concerned with the breeding of fear in a culture of fear embedded in social media platforms AS IF they are the only way to be involved in the world. I have never joined such social media platforms like FB, TWITTER, Instagram, etc. Only a modest participation in the FM ning community and posting on my Youtube channel is what I see as actually useful. I particularly know many of the truths that Dr. Cal Newport shares, as I have always believed children from the get go need to develop skills of "deep work" (concentration capacities and existential resilence)--boh of these skills are fast being eroded by social media and it hits the children earlier and earlier. My educational philosophy is one of getting children and youth unhooked from this 'sick' technology that is more harmful than not. Watch the video and make up your own mind. Spread the word... 

[The following article is reprinted with permission from X. Yuan.] 

Fearless Conversations in Curriculum as a Wayfinding Amid Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Xuechen Yuan
Lakehead University

JCACS Musings, Apr. 19/22

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGpGwhzxzJsLzfBCcldNQRhjpdD

I fear many things amid the crisis in Ukraine when the immediate future is so unknown. Being immersed in mainstream news media makes me even more fearful. As a graduate student in Education, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the uncertainties of global consequences makes me very pessimistic about curriculum reform these days. At a time when collective trauma and fear coexist within the bodies of the world’s citizens, stories symbolizing backwardness are constantly told, and voices of hope for global justice are silenced. With the current nuclear terror in Europe, information warfare, the deteriorated NATO-Russian relationships, and the Taiwan Strait Crisis, news media induces a global mass hysteria of World War III. While people around the world stand in solidarity with Ukraine and others who are affected by Putin’s tyranny, I fear that humanity is headed for a more nuclearized, militarized, competitive, and backward situation. While looking at history, I realize that many of the decisions that led the world to being in an arms-race situation could have been avoided long ago. Decades of mistrust between the U.S. and Russia destroyed any hope for turning Russia into an ally and for democratic reform in Russia. Russian civilians’ distrust of the hypocrisy of democracy and freedom of speech has been reinforced since it does nothing to prevent millions of children from being malnourished, starving and dying.

To be fair, I’m writing this post out of fear. As someone born in an authoritarian state like China, I have always been discouraged to raise adverse opinions of sensitive issues on any platform. Especially in the face of the invasion, Chinese leaders have been siding with the aggressor, and have mass media intensifying toxic nationalism against the West. After an in-depth discussion with renowned fear scholar R. Michael Fisher, I realize that we could explore opportunities in fear. In Chinese, we often say Weiji (危机) — opportunity in crisis. I like how this transforms the relationship to fear rather than assuming a reductive and functional view that defines fear and supposes that it’s the best way to make sense of things (Fisher, 2010). We must understand fear, not run from it. The mainstream news media coverage of the current crisis in Europe has left us with a victim-type of fear, building curriculum that does not endow or inspire any practices of fearlessness. The American imperialism of news outlets has been inducing mass hysteria of nuclearization and Russophobia across the globe. It is not the future that haunts us but the fear of the future. But isn’t that what we fear every day? We fear what we are not prepared for (that we lack agency and readiness), but isn’t that the point of curriculum, to prepare us to face those fearful uncertainties during our apprenticeships, rather than spoon-feeding our ways out of fear?

Economic and political competition might seem like a ‘game of thrones’ for many conventional wisdom holders, and to many who view history as an objective truth. But I think of curriculum as being ‘agentic,’ a way-finding that can shift the narratives we tell of the past. A lot of us might be let down by the injustice in the world today, but we need to continue to find our ways amid fear, acknowledge and feel the fear inside of us, and then become courageous to face the fear. During this invasion, countless netizens, activists, and civilians around the world rose against Putin’s brutal actions. The borders between nations are no longer defined geopolitically, but agentically by conversations. In an internationalized and democratic world, conversations enable us to readjust and destabilize the conventional, now ever-changing borders (Pinar, 2004). The next step of curriculum for us is to define borders ideologically with depth imagery. An authentic conversation requires “going beyond the surface to take into account ‘unspoken’ and ‘taken-for-granted’ assumptions, including ‘ideology’ […and] must be guided by an interest in understanding more fully what is not said by going beyond what is said’’ (Aoki, as cited in Pinar, 2004, p. 159). So far, our democratic discourse/conversations have been based on denouncing Putin’s behaviour, which can be done intuitively and without much effort to engage in deeper conversations. Many who are sceptical of the ideal of democracy perceive it from the frame of reference of cognitive imperialism — ‘fast-food-like’ pedagogy embedded in empty words that lead people into a fallacy that they are endowed with greater freedom than institutions actually allow. Cognitive imperialism largely obscures the construction of conjunctive ‘inter-space’ in conversations while diverting public attention to shallowness of conversations — freedom of expression and individual liberty. What is beyond the unsaid, however, requires a curriculum of critical literacy in which people work together to co-create reciprocal and complex conversations. Our curriculum needs to create democratic agents, not agents in a democratic political structure. Conversation represents a relationship between spaces (not just ‘spaces’), where people engage in mutuality rather than dichotomous struggles of viewpoints. Therefore, when world crises happen, we do not just condemn the aggressor with empty words but act ahead to prevent it. This is how our curriculum can truly be agentic rather than being reactive (to fear).

From the emergence of COVID-19 to the humanitarian crisis in eastern Europe, it has become more necessary than ever for curriculum changes to address how the trauma of war, the separation, and the isolation of life, have lived in and affected our bodies, so we can hold each other’s hands and find our way out of the hardships collectively, rather than kill each other. Ironically, we can learn a lot from coronaviruses; even viruses know how to converse with each other and change according to different situations to achieve their survival goals (Chambers, 2022). I don’t know what the curriculum will look like in the future, but I do know that our curriculum should inspire people to share difficult knowledge, memories, stories, and to explore and confront their fears, not run from them. The purpose of this post is to find ways to encourage people to lift the veil of these unspoken fears, to engage in deep (as opposed to dichotomous) conversations with each other, and to prevent hatred, phobia, and mistrust toward others. To end this post with an excerpt from an interview done with University of Lethbridge professor Cynthia Chambers (2022), “The truth about maps is they’re only useful when you’ve already been somewhere, they’re not really helpful when you’ve never been anywhere [… We have to] find our way collectively and to learn together [under difficult circumstances], rather than looking to authorities for the final answer or being angry that nobody knows” (26:44).

Rise up, Ukraine. We stand with you!

References

Fisher, R. M. (2010). The world’s fearlessness teachings: A critical integral approach to fear management/education for the 21st Century. University Press of America.

JCACS Curriculum Without Borders. (2022, February 23). JCACS interviews Cynthia Chambers: Curriculum as wayfinding. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNAxSJbdBPo

Pinar, W. F. (2004). What is curriculum theory? Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

This excerpt (first draft only) is a small piece to give you a sense of what I am 'onto' these days, especially in writing this tenth book (to be published later this year by Information Age Publishing, in their Philosophy of Education Series, Ed. Dr. John Petrovic) [1]. I have been working months and months, and it has been quite a ploughing the soil. Hard going at times. This Chapter Five took weeks to complete, as I just did this morning. Wow! It is by far the largest chapter in the book (coming in at a heavty 25,000 words itself, without the references). Yikes.

A number of fresh insights came from the writing that I could put into it, so that was good. It is never a boring writing because I risk all the time, on the edge of not knowing what I am doing and not creating chapter outlines. I just start writing. 

As always, I trust this bit of expository on fear will intrigue you to critique, to commnent, here on the FM ning. And/or you can always email me directly: 

r.michaelfisher52@gmail.com

Notes

1. Excerpt from Fisher, R. M. (in progress). The Fear Problematique: Role of Philosophy of Education in Speaking Truths to Power in a Culture of Fear. 

This is the inside back cover of the Bio. for Samuel Nathan Gillian (1939-2015). I had a friendly (email relationship) with Sam since May 2004 until March 2005. And recently with one of his nieces (thankfully) contacting me--now I am in conversation with his wife Bernice, and there is a new project on my plate to write an intellectual biography on SNG. Just wanted to let you all know that. He has written two amazing books on fear (and education) [1], and I know of no one who has done that, and especially with him being an African-American black man, again, I know of no black person who has written two major books on fear; this combination puts his work out as an important historical record in Fear Studies. Intellectually, he developed some close links at one point with the Ernest Becker Foundation and he absorbed the writings of Ernest Becker. Sam was likely an existential thinker. Bernice says, with a great "zest for life." He also puts his own spin on fear and how best to relate to it, based on his life's experience and being one who loved children and teaching. In 2020 I wrote a technical paper on my initial connections with Sam and why he and I had our overlapping same interests and our differences about fear and fearlessness [2]. 

IF ANYONE has further information, of any kind, about SNG, please contact me: r.michaelfisher52@gmail.com

FYI: I just posted May 10/22 on "Cornel West" (see FM ning)-- as it is truly West's liberal-radical philosophy that in many ways (not all) is very much akin to Gillian's philosophy.

Notes: 

1. Gillian, S. N. (2002). The Beauty of Fear: How to Positively Enjoy Being Afraid. Phemore Press, Inc.; Gillian, S. N. (2005). Terrified by Education: Teaching Children to Fear Learning. Phemore Press, Inc. 

2. Fisher, R. M. (2020). Samuel N. Gillian's Beckerian Educational Philosophy of Fear/Terror. Technical Paper No. 102. In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute.