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My first major work of fearology was this book The World's Fearlessness Teachings (2010), published by University Press of America/Rowman & Littlefield. 

This opus volume contains 21 years of research on the topic of fear and fearlessness, across time, across cultures, and explores the topic across the many theories that exist out there in human thought on fear management. 

I think Yahweh's comment on the last blog is relevant and worthy to comment on. Yahweh's comment is about their own doubt that there is such a phenomenon as the "gift of fear" (which is the phrase and theory of international security expert Gavin De Becker). Note: I cover De Becker's theory in my 2010 book and critique it respectfully as well, as I critique many theories of fear management/education therein. 

I have analyzed De Becker and many other contemporary writers and teachers who want to make "fear" positive. Often they are doing this because they feel "fear" has for too long in history received a bad rap, a negative connotation, and that that hasn't helped us see the positive side to fear. I call this all a movement to re-furbish and rehabilitate fear in order to make it important again in its own right. I think that is generally a good movement and response and will benefit humanity. However, like all movements they can be biased and one-sided and excessive to become their own ideologies. That's part of my critique of these "fear-positivists" as I call them collectively. De Becker is part of that camp of thinking and teaching about fear. It is partial. And Yahweh is even questioning it as potentially mis-guided or at least it is something that ought to be scrutinized. I'm glad Yahweh wrote the comment of questioning on the De Becker initiative in the last blog post. 

I show my book here because I attempt to sort through, albeit long-winded and scholarly in approach, that there are indeed troubles with the "fear-positivists" and that has important outcomes. Without going into all that detail, I recommend my book. However, I will say, it is good for us on the Fearlessness Movement Ning to think about these things carefully and examine our own experiences with fear and fearlessness. Let us not be controlled by what others think too much. That itself, is part of the path of fearlessness and it is part of what fearology attempts to do by raising these issues on the topic of fear into the light of critical analysis and experimentation and philosophical debate. Finally, I argue that the real gift (theoretically) is not "fear" but "fearlessness." I trace out carefully in my book why that is a useful proposition and theory and has not been embraced in the Western world of thought to date. There are also lots of problems with the use of the term "fearlessness" and "fearless" which I write and teach about. But besides all that, I have a way of writing and thinking that is dialectical and may help us get around some of the problems of the debates about "gift of fear" vs. "gift of fearlessness." My solution... 

(?) or my intrigue for a better way to study this all, is to look at a conception that is written as fear(less)(ness). By breaking this down and showing these relationships, there is more likely to be a 'corrective' awareness in what we are talking and writing and teaching about with this topic of fear and fearlessness. Anyways, just my suggestion, for now... maybe you folks have a better suggestion... 

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Note: I appreciate John Coleman, Apocatastasis Institute for re-posting this blog today. See Learn about Apocatastasis' Fearology Center here: https://apocatastasisinstitute.wordpress.com/fearology-center/ 

This is a short summary illustrated video by a person on the internet and does a pretty good job of interpreting the theory of "gift of fear" by Gavin De Becker. As colleagues in the battle to de-mythologize the fear phenomenon and culture of fear, Gavin and I have known each other for 25 years through correspondence on emails, and he has written a Foreword for one of my publications on "culture of fear" and he has been generous to support my work on fearology overall since 2000.

His position is founder and president of Gavin De Becker & Associates, an American top security firm with international recognition as well. He's a big player in the world of violence and how to prevent it, especially for judges, celebrities and so on. He has several books and articles and is on video interviews all over. He is an amazing psychological 'counselor' as well in re: to people who have been terrified, attacked, and threatened [1].

He is recently (to my surprise), now becoming more public and even political in the public sphere of culture and politics. He has recently been called a "billionaire donar" on one leftist podcast, in re: to his (suspicious in their eyes) alignment with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his bid for 2024 president of the USA. We'll have to keep watching where this all goes. But in the meantime, I support De Becker getting involved in political life at this scale and indeed even if he wants to be a superpack donor, not that I encourage that regime of political elitism and money-dropping [2]. Anyways, I look forward to hearing more from De Becker and I'm glad to help out, especially in the project he has, like myself (and others) to better educate our society about fear (and, what Gavin ultimately wants, which is a "fear less" society [3] and he wants us all, more or less, to become "warriors" [4])--now, that gets really interesting. And, not surprising, I am also a critic of his fear theory in important aspects, but that nonetheless does not diminish my respect for it. 

Endnotes

1. E.g., For his recent interview live with Sarah Silverman go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYdUV0H16lY

2. I note that De Becker with all his money and influence is not backing Marianne Williamson, and her pursuit much more forthright than RFK Jr., to make the world fear less --and, I am referring to all of MW's long career since 1983 at least, to have society shift from a politics of fear to a politics of love. She, in my view, ought to be highly supported by people like De Becker. That said, I really don't know who De Becker funds in politics, but the recent expose' podcast I mention about does say De Becker has donated 4.5 million already to RFK Jr.'s campaign bid for dems president in 2024.

3. De Becker, G. (2002). Fear Less: Real truth about risk, safety, and security in a time of terrorism. NY: Little, Brown & Co.

4. See intro of the interview he does with Sarah [endnote 1 video], and he calls Sarah a (woman) "warrior," validating her with great admiration. 

Time Magazine Cover Image (revised by RMF)... Apr. 2, 2018

There's a churning of emotionalism and activism in America this year, especially this spring. I have posted a few blogs about youth (mostly in highschools) across America but also around the world, protesting "gun violence" in their schools and communities. They have picked various slogans and hashtags, but the one I think is most telling and interesting is "Fear has no place..." (and the usual term finishing that phrase, but not only one, is) "in our schools." Does this means American youth are protesting in record numbers publicly to say, "We want no fear in our schools? our societies?" --and, why are they not saying they want a "Fearless Society"? 

I have just completed a new Tech Paper 76.pdf "Fear has no place..."..": Youth movement for fearlessness in need of critique" which I would love if folks read and gave me feedback. In particular, I'd love this paper get out to youth who are in this movement and may we find ways to dialogue. 

Also see Photo I recently posted of the images, t-shirts, mugs and commercialization that has already quickly adjoined itself to the youth protest movement. I very much wanted to see this movement as a Fearlessness Movement (see my blog post "March Without Fear"https://fearlessnessmovement.ning.com/blog/youth-s-march-for-our-lives-is-a-march-for-without-fear

I really wonder where the "Fear has no place..." slogandia started? Maybe some of the readers here know. All I know is that, as a fearologist, this is the last thing to be voting for or marching up and down the streets for. Notice, I am not talking about the "gun problem" these young people are also addressing, but interestingly enough it has spread from there, the more concrete part of their activism, to an issue of "fear" (again, see the Internet and all the articles and images that have grown up around this notion of "Fear has no place in our schools" for example. 

As a fearologist, and as one who articulates and follows the philosophy of fearism, and philosophy of fearlessness, everything tells me that the narrow and shallow notion of "Fear has no place" is quite the wrong direction to go if we really want to be liberating youth, school cultures, and society as a whole. It's too bad that phrase is a 'viral' catch phrase but perhaps with time and more deep thinking, and informing of the movement by fearologists, a more congruent message can be applied. The basic starting point is not to try to get rid of fear. That is casting it out like a mis-placed thing. Fear is us, as the saying goes. I cannot help but think youth in America have been disillusioned and or so brain-washed in some ways (not all), that they are taking on the politically and ideologically fraught with problems view of the "conservatives" in American culture and politics--that is, with their Zero Tolerance policies and practices. The very discourse (unfortunately) of the rebelling youth today in America is sounding an awful lot like a discourse that is from the elders they have been oppressed by for so long--that is, a Zero Tolerance policy of excluding "fear" from schools and well, where does that exclusion stop. It is ironic that this youth generation protesting is also the most articulate and delightful in supporting inclusion (diversity-- equals difference and the Other). But when it comes to "fear" they are saying it has no place in American schools, communities, and societies. This is a contradiction and a basically 'wrong-headed' strategy and rhetoric. 

Again, this short blog is not my full argumentation re: the problem this declaration has brought forward. As a hint, I will say a much wiser declaration or wisdom comes from the elder African-American Black novelist Toni Morrison, 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature--where, she wrote about in her novel Sula on the very importance of Black People (generally, meaning the oppressed) to rather "make a place for fear" where it can be seen, worked with, and "controlled" (re: the character Shadrack in that novel)--and managed because it is known and studied and lived with in relationship because it is real. The African-American experience and guidance here is well worth looking at in terms of its contradictory message relative to the youth message today in America (and not only youth) of "Fear has no place...". Equally, in future writing on this, I'll examine Four Arrows' Indigenous-based theory of Fear [1] and why the native people and their worldview also are wise enough to know that the last thing we ought to be promoting anywhere are places where "fear" is not welcomed! It is rather astounding, on one level, that all the "fear-positive" literature and teachings since the 1990s in N.A. has had little to no uptake so it seems, at least, at this time for this youth movement [2].

I'll leave it here, with the dialectical thought that if one creates "no place for fear" likewise that is going to create "no place for fearlessness" --and, thus I see a lot of emotionalism and bravado in the new activism of youth today in America rather than true fearlessness. But that's not a put down or dismissing of the good spirit that is driving behind their efforts [3]--their peace, anti-gun, anti-violence anti-fear efforts... I applaud their heartfulness to find truth and justice, and yet, I am seeing how woundedness and trauma doesn't always analyze deeply enough the discourse of the oppressors--of the 'Fear' Matrix (culture of fear) that beseiges us all today--including youth in school cultures. 

Notes: 

1. See for e.g., Four Arrows (aka Jacobs, D. T.) (2016). Point of departure: Returning to a more authentic worldview for education and survival.  Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. 

 2. By "fear-positive" I am referring to literature from many disciplines and professionals, who have asserted that we need to shift from seeing fear as only negative to also seeing fear as positive, a gift and so on. For e.g., one of the most effective teachers of this has been de Becker, G. (1997). The Gift of fear: Survival signals that protect us from violence. New York: Bantam. 

3. On the positive-side, I could argue a "spirit of fearlessness" is motivating their call, their 'truth-to-power' discourse. Another view is that from a nondual standpoint argument that could be made, as a colleague Luke Barnesmoore makes generically in an unpublished essay "Fear and Fearlessness" (in his larger collection of essays "Nomadic Exploration of Critical Pedagogy") that: "I seek to emulate the Divine out of loving respect, not fear (which is a product of the potential for the Divine's privation in manifestation and has no place, in and of itself, in the eternal" (p. 7). Barnesmoore's argument is one from an absolutistic philosophy (spirituality) or what he calls the "Natural Worldview" of the "Nothing-Infinite Eternal and its emanations Force, Form and Consciousness" whose attributes inlcude Love, Truth, Reality, Beauty, Goodness, Unity, etc." Thus, arguably, one could take such a metaphysical principle and say that there may be wise truth practical and value in the rhetoric of "Fear has no place..." that the youth in America are manifesting in their own way, consciously or not. See Barnesmoore, L. (2018). Fear and fearlessness. Unpublished paper. A self-identified San Franciscan (California), Luke is currently a doctoral student in the Geography department, Co-Founder/Director of the UBC Urban Studies Lab, at The University of British Columbia, Canada.