Fear, its object, its consequences, it is part of a large family: timidity, doubt, creeps, alarm, disquietude, apprehension, dread, frisson, stage fright...What characterizes fear is its object - the unknown - whereas the rest of the family focusses on a known or imagined object. The unknown is obviously death and its by-products, and one should carry out a comparative cost/benefit analysis between the two attitudes confronted to the unknown... all the more so since the modern age person has eliminated fear by disposing of the why of fear.
Clearly, if there is no longer an object, there is no more reason to be afraid. It was thus necessary to find another name for fear, a generic name which qualifies a sentiment with an unknown object, and angst fit the bill.
We are anguished without determining the source, and we speak of an ill-being, which is left to specialists to treat the symptoms of, so as to re-establish a well-being of sorts... which has no more reason to be than the ill-being it replaces!
PS Hey! Being must be rolling on the floor and laughing its ash off to hear that it has been donned with an ill or a well... My! Here I am as an ill-being, do you recognize me luv? I assure you, it's me! lol Hey! Jeepers, you really gave me the creeps, I kid you not... you know, I wouldn't have recognized you otherwise!
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some philosophy there...hopefully next time I'll know whether it's fear or anguish that I'm feeling !!
ReplyDeleteHi Rakesh! Glad you are following. I just realized angst sounds better. If these musings strike a chord with the mind and the heart, then I believe they would serve their purpose. ;)
ReplyDeleteAll of those things do boil down to confronting the unknown. And once we let go of the fear of the unknown, all of those things will no longer negatively affect our lives.
ReplyDelete~ Kristi
@Kristi,I hear you :) I added the stage fright bit...
ReplyDeleteI love the way you explained this!! + this is one of my favorite paintings!!!
ReplyDeleteSo, is the point you are making that the non-specific fear that we label as as a form of ill-being might actually be a fear of some of the feelings and sensations of "being"?
ReplyDeleteHmmm! If a "being" recognizes that the shadows it is jumping at are shadows of itself it might see the absurdity of the situation and roll on the floor laughing - as you say.