Introduction
“Fear is not to be feared” - Michael Eneyo
Throughout the ages, fear has wielded immense influence in shaping societies. Often, fear takes the form of tales recounting the origins of phenomena and the evolution of knowledge and becomes deeply ingrained in human existence. In recent times, fear has emerged as one of humanity's most pressing challenges. This is not to suggest that there ever existed a period devoid of fear in history. Rather, we are saying that contemporary human activities tend to evoke more apprehension than in bygone eras. Although nobody desires to live in perpetual fear or be constrained by it, one should never contemplate eliminating fear from our daily experiences because that will certainly prove arduous, if not impossible. Many of our thoughts are intertwined with various forms of fear, prompting us to exercise caution and prudence in our actions. Since having fear is natural to humans, we should rather concern ourselves with attempting to unmask its secrets to rightly apply the rule of fear in our daily life experiences so we can achieve goals.
Conversely, fear can hinder us from pursuing our life goals. In our prior investigations into fear, tagged; Philosophy of Fear, we highlighted its dual nature, encompassing both positive and negative aspects. We advocated the need for every individual to discern how to overcome negative fear and embrace positive fear. This new undertaking on the mastery of fear seeks to unveil the elusive nature of fear and educate individuals on mastering it and its secrets.
From a philosophical perspective, fear represents a critical inquiry into the human condition. It is a phenomenon that pervades the entirety of human life, driving decision-making processes and influencing behaviours on both individual and societal levels. Renowned philosopher Kierkegaard suggests that fear, along with anxiety, forms the basis of human freedom, propelling individuals into conscious choices and moral responsibilities (Kierkegaard 1844). This justifies the existentialists’ view of the absurdity of human existence with his corresponding anxiety to create meaning for his meaningless life. Thus, fear becomes a tool for human freedom, only if it is positively utilised.
Undoubtedly, fear is an inherent trait in every human being as well as animals, birds, and fish. However, the intensity of fear differs among individuals and species. Several factors contribute to this variation. This book aims to unravel the enigmatic nature of fear in our lives, shed light on why some people are more prone to fear than others, and outline the steps necessary to confront our fears.
Within the discourse of Fearological Ethics, I have introduced two methods, among others, that can help us to overcome specific fears and also provide some guides on how to utilise them to achieve our dreams. These two major methods are designated to advance these guides with some sense of ethics, while other methods are also employable in some specific discourses. The two methodologies are; the Acquaintance Method and the Love-Fear Method. These methods would be used to unveil strategies that we can incorporate to better manage our fears. By the conclusion of this work, readers are anticipated to be equipped with a variety of techniques and approaches in fear studies, fostering an understanding and appreciation that fear need not be an entity to be feared. Rather, an intense love for fear studies can help humanity restructure the world and unmask the fear that engulfed it, which has almost turned the world into what I tagged "Fear Territory".
Comments
Thanks so much Dr. Fisher for your kind words.
Actually, the book Mastering the Secrets of Fear is a Fearological Manual that will certainly guide those who want to know more about fear. The book is well chaptered with scintillating exposition of the secrets of fear. It is hoped that reading the book will give the readers alternative views, perspectives, and understanding of the concept of fear. And it will also give a hint on how to employ fear as a tool to arrive at positive results. It elucidating patterning of the ideation and arguments to the subject matter will make readers justify the book title.
Once again, thank you Sir.
Congratulations Michael for your concerted work on fearology!
I will order a copy soon and see where your thought is going.
Other than your (at least) five previous volumes--two on fear per se and one on love/unity, on ethics, and one a novel story; I can see this is meant to be a less difficult challenging book in terms of theological-philosophical academic work. I see the volume is more a guidebook and is classified on the back cover as "inspirational." That's an interesting shift and reflects your practical interest to help people with fears. I like the opening quote in the Introduction: "Fear is not to be feared." That of course, is a puzzling, layered and complicated prescription, no doubt with its own unrevealed secrets to still be discovered. More discussion on that is helpful to this nascent field of fearology.