|
 |
| |
|
| |
|
Frank Furedi (University of Kent, UK)
|
The rules of fear
Summary of the speech Today's fears are different from those of the past. We always speak of fear using rituals. At the beginning of my lessons I need to explain where the emergency exits are. At the airport you are asked whether anyone else has tampered with your suitcase. We take these things for granted, but they increase fear. In medieval times fear was a virtue, directed to the divine. In 1930 it was unemployment; in the '50s it was nuclear war.
With regard to the present, there are seven rules, which help to understand "our" fears. First of all, fear is a problem that is unconnected to any specific object. For example, the police in England have the duty to fight the fear of crime. Second, fear floats free. Just look at the papers: bird flu, obesity, and transgenic foods. Third point, fear has become an ideology, a prospective. Politics knows how to use it as a cultural resource. Differences between political parties today are based on the different fears that they call on. Then there is intangibility, the idea of the incalculable threat.
Fifth, on the scale of human psychology, we are defined by our fears, becoming more vulnerable, not as individuals but as a collective entity. Sixth, fear has taken on a private dimension. We do not speak with our neighbours; we keep to ourselves. And last, we fear ourselves. We read about humanity that pollutes and destroys. Human impact has taken on a negative significance in recent times. We stay at home and cannot share common values unless we use fear.
Go to the guest's details
|
All the speeches |
|
|
Download the speech's video
|
|
|
|
| |
|
