What is Fear?

Fear can be seen biologically as a natural behaviour developed over thousands of years and selected for through evolution used to make an organism aware of predators and danger, and make that organism react to it by either fighting or fleeing. When we are young, the brain is like an empty vacuum cleaner that works tirelessly to scoop up every bit of information it gains from its surroundings via the senses. When a baby puts a finger in a fire for the first time and gets burned, he quickly learns that fire means harm and will keep away from it the next time round. This means that the baby brain has developed memories inside it to associate fire with danger. But what keeps the baby away from the fire is fear. Fear is an emotion, a conjured thought of the brain that links danger with the physical world. 

So what about the fear of being alone or the fear of losing your loved one? Can that be considered a true form of fear? Again, if we look at this biologically, we can realize that a wild primate would be in much more danger when wandering alone than when it is in a group. This fear of being alone has been selected for through evolution along the generations, because that organisms that 'fears' being alone and is inclined to search for his familiars and stay in tight groups is more likely to survive than the individual that lacks this fear and is thus more susceptible of being preyed upon. Similarly, since humans form bonds between males and females the fear of losing a loved one, or being neglected or betrayed comes from the fact that being in a couple maximizes the chance of having offspring. In this case, fear developed so that a lonely individual seeks out a mate and remains with her to raise children successfully. Those which did not succeed to do so had no offspring, and thus fear was again selected for. 

It seems rather bland to see fear as something biological and not metaphysical or beyond our control. However, this realization that fear is in fact part of our thoughts and brain development has many implications on our health. Phobias for example, can be overcome by overriding the brain stimuli causing it, by reforming memories associated with danger that are causing fear to now cause pleasure, or in simpler terms, happiness. Hypnosis is a technique used to subdue fears by activating parts of the brain that are not usually used while conscious, so that we take control of memories tucked away in our brains causing fear and confront them,. In the process we realize that the dangers we are being warned about with fear are in fact unrealistic, and our fear is exaggerated. Becoming aware of this fact removes the fear. 

Artists such as filmmakers, writers and actors convey fear in various ways. Some depict fear as darkness. This kind of fear is also biological. Primates are diurnal creatures, that is, they forage and do all sorts of stuff during the day, while they hide away during the night in trees. Other methods used include howling and roars, conveying the fear of an approaching predator. The unknown also causes fear, because a primate that feels as if it is being watched but does not have sight on danger can become anxious. This method is used in horror movies depicting ghosts, where a screeching door causes anxiety because we are not aware of the person using that door. In the wild, a noise of a breaking twig could either mean that a predator is approaching or that a friendly creature has passed by. If the primate is not able to determine who broke that twig, then fear takes hold.

Overall, emotions have all developed biologically to serve a purpose. Without fear, we probably would not exist, because being too naive means getting eaten up. Or from a different viewpoint; it was inevitable for a primate with fear not to develop over time because those that did not have fear died and had no offspring while those that did lived on. This is simply known as evolution.