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SCIENCE

The Roots of Fear

The evolutionary primacy of the brain's fear circuitry makes it more powerful than reasoning circuits.

By Sharon Begley | NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Dec 24, 2007

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  • Posted By: themaninchina @ 01/12/2008 5:30:39 AM

    Comment: The fear response is much like the anger response. Anger comes from the same part of the brain, and can overcome reason. A person "loses it", the brain short circiuts thought, and the person reacts with violence which will be regretted later, after the brain's higher functions have reasserted themselves. As a society, we do not allow people to display uncontrolled anger. We should have the same attitude toward fear. Uncolntrolled fear at a societal level can lead to disastrous conflicts, alienation of people, marginalizing minorities, and bad economic decisions. Historically, the effort of humanity has been directed at overcomng our biological destiny. We control our sex drive, our anger responses, our inherent racism and xenophobia. We must also control our fears. And since it is always fear of the unknown, of what might happen, the best defense is familiarity and knowledge..

  • Posted By: nawawimohamad @ 12/19/2007 3:00:18 AM

    Comment: Fear is just a feeling experienced by all sane and normal human beings and animals. This feeling of fear is one of the control mechanisms for our survival, it may sound silly but ironically fear is related to the unknown which has not happen yet. Thus the fear of the possibility of world war 3 where nobody is going to win. will ensure that all normal and sane people will avoide it (WW3) by all means possible. So please do not vote insane and abnormal human being to power, because thay have no fear.

  • Posted By: ahnshinritzumai @ 12/17/2007 9:14:59 PM

    Comment: Our greatest fear should be electing another functional moron to office like in 1980, 1984, 2000, and 2004 or another internationally inexperienced politician as in 1964, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. See a trend?

  • Posted By: ahnshinritzumai @ 12/17/2007 9:12:17 PM

    Comment: Quite possibly, our greatest fear should be electing functional morons to office as in 1980, 1984, 2000, and 2004 or internationally inexperienced people as in 1964, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. See a trend?

  • Posted By: Anduril919 @ 12/17/2007 7:14:46 PM

    Comment: There's a difference here, glock. When Bill Clinton ran, he HAD extensive experience and was the most senior governor at that time. Barack doesn't have any experience to really be proud of. The fact that every observer acknowledges that Obama is the most underqualified person to seek the nomination since World War II speaks volumes. He had no accomplishments as a US Senator. No accomplishments as a State legislator. And very little experience. No battle scars. He is all fluff and glamour and rhetoric and no substance.

  • Posted By: Anduril919 @ 12/17/2007 7:13:56 PM

    Comment: There's a difference here, glock. When Bill Clinton ran, he HAD extensive experience and was the most senior governor at that time. Barack doesn't have any experience to really be proud of. The fact that every observer acknowledges that Obama is the most underqualified person to seek the nomination since World War II speaks volumes. He had no accomplishments as a US Senator. No accomplishments as a State legislator. And very little experience. No battle scars. He is all fluff and glamour and rhetoric and no substance.

    • Posted By: glock @ 12/17/2007 19:58:55

      Comment: So Hillary's experience and accomplishments are........what? Remember Bill is not running. And extensive experience as a governor prepared him for foreign policy how? Please tell me Hillary's accomplishments as a Senator from a district in which she lived for how long?

  • Posted By: readernyc @ 12/17/2007 6:26:49 PM

    Comment: Seems like this is just more piling on of the MEDIA sensationalist fearmongering! Taking Obama's acknowledgment of reality, to illustrate he's not an ignorant idealist, out of context to try to frame him as just as fearmongering as those other typical politicians "experienced" in manipulating fear... Maybe Newsweek is afraid of having a president who does things differently, forcing them and other media to think about and cover issues instead of joining in the fear hype for attention and ratings and advertising bucks. Try giving fair coverage to the issues and to all fo the candidates. I know it goes against the grain.

  • Posted By: mounttim @ 12/17/2007 6:07:55 PM

    Comment: Interesting stuff, predicated on a thin pretext though. I'm gonna need more convincing that Obama is a fear monger like Mr 'Axis of Evil'. I'm sure he could be. What I don't understand is the authors' and others' low opinion for other Americans, and high opinion of manipulation. " Obama's promises about universal health coverage will therefore gain traction only if he deftly invokes voters' fears about not having or losing coverage ". Dammit is that an obvious statement or what, but hold up, don't those people who care already worry about coverage loss? surely the question those people are wondering is who is going to do something ?

  • Posted By: leodelaney @ 12/17/2007 6:06:59 PM

    Comment: Never there was a politician who didn't love fear and use it in his campaign to make things better for himself, and never was a people who did not do the wrong thing because of a fear instilled in them by that politician. Look at Obama's comments about how we have to get rid of fear and then he finishes up with 30-40,000 jihadists out there all looking to kill us in general and you in particular. Before 9/11 the number was 2-3,000 but that wasn't big enough for any of today's politicians; in fact George Bush made it 20-30,000,000 because he really needed a lot to cover up his incompetence and the failures of his administration.

    Unfortunately the people never question the sources of the fear their leaders promulgate and the result is election campaigns fueled by fear and fear feeding upon itself with each speech utterd by a candidate. The United States does not need to live in fear, we are the only superpower in the world. We do not need to cringe before a few thousand fanatics; we do not need to spend two trillion dollars fighting these few thousand, we do not need to trample on our rights to secure our nights, we do not need to teach our children hatred for large groups of others who think differently from us. We do not need to, but our politicians do need to, and as long as we let them lead us around by creating and exploiting our unnecessary fears we are going to get the like of what we have today.

  • Posted By: akshnjaxn @ 12/17/2007 6:04:57 PM

    Comment: posted twice my appologies

  • Posted By: gensch @ 12/17/2007 6:01:36 PM

    Comment: Actually, the dems use fear tactics much more than anyone. Most dem candidates attempt to instill fear of health insuance availability, global warming and "the conservative conspiracy". Most anyone willing to work has access to health insurance with much of the costs subsidized by their employer. There is no evidence that industrialization has any effect on global warming. In fact there is no evidence that there is long-term climate change. Frankly, it was much warmer than this in the 30's. In medieval times it was so warm that England became a wine-producer because its climate was ideal fro growing grapes. Apparently, the :intellectuals haven't paid attention to their history books. And there is no conservative conspiracy, unless you consider rejecting propaganda from the liberal-biased media as a conspiracy. Incidentally, Kerry WAS a flip-flopper. You have no journalistic integrity.

  • Posted By: akshnjaxn @ 12/17/2007 6:00:36 PM

    Comment: Im not much on following politics but I went to school and I can also spot a liar from a mile away. It saddens me what we have condoned politics and politicians to become. From Bush and his family all the way down to your local representative, they are trained to say what the majority wants to hear just to get into office, then once in they move on with their agenda on a much more limited scope. If any of you think for one moment these people have your best interests as americans in mind you are fools. The type of people we need in office will never be there becuase they are not cut throat enough to take it, and for those of you who missed it, the presidency was taken 8 years ago. This article is a perfect example of what Im arguing. Use our fear to get our attention, then exploit it. Our country was founded by great men, brave men, and on the blood of those they sent forth. Nowadays we go to war for hearsay. Its no wonder most of the world dispises us. We are so wrapped up in steroids, and Britney spears we cant see through the trees. The presidency isnt a sport, but that is how we treat it. We should all be ashamed of what we have allowed this country to become. And you can blame yoursevles for that, not the president.

  • Posted By: akshnjaxn @ 12/17/2007 5:59:51 PM

    Comment: Im not much on following politics but I went to school and I can also spot a liar from a mile away. It saddens me what we have condoned politics and politicians to become. From Bush and his family all the way down to your local representative, they are trained to say what the majority wants to hear just to get into office, then once in they move on with their agenda on a much more limited scope. If any of you think for one moment these people have your best interests as americans in mind you are fools. The type of people we need in office will never be there becuase they are not cut throat enough to take it, and for those of you who missed it, the presidency was taken 8 years ago. This article is a perfect example of what Im arguing. Use our fear to get our attention, then exploit it. Our country was founded by great men, brave men, and on the blood of those they sent forth. Nowadays we go to war for hearsay. Its no wonder most of the world dispises us. We are so wrapped up in steroids, and Britney spears we cant see through the trees. The presidency isnt a sport, but that is how we treat it. We should all be ashamed of what we have allowed this country to become. And you can blame yoursevles for that, not the president.

  • Posted By: gensch @ 12/17/2007 5:49:59 PM

    Comment: In reality, the dems use fear much more than anyone. Most of the dem candidates attempt to install fear of unavailability of health care insurance, global warming and "conservative conspiracies". Get real. Most anyone willing to work can get health insurance easily. There is no evidence that industrialization has any thing to do with global warming. In fact, there is no evidence that the earth is warming long-term anyway. And there is no conservative conspiracy, unless you consider rejecting liberal biased media propaganda a conspiracy. By the way, Kerry WAS a flip-flopper. You have no journalistic integrity.

    • Posted By: FatesFury @ 12/17/2007 18:18:51

      Comment: EVERY politician uses fear. That's what this article is all about - Not the Dems - Not the Reps. Every single political party uses fear because it works. The most obvious example is simply the last 8 years which happened to be Republican years. I could go as far to say that for both of W's elections, fear was the #1 tool he used to get people to the booths. Why? Because it worked! Sad sad world when as "evolved" as we are, we can't get past that "flinch" and think clearly in terms of our livelihood and our legacy not only here but in terms of world view. It IS our fault for electing everyone involved that got us so entrenched in a war that seems to have no end. We need to identify our fears and make logical decisions and vote accordingly not because of our emotions or party affiliation. We need to grow up.

  • Posted By: hellrazor_00@hotmail.com @ 12/17/2007 5:04:56 PM

    Comment: Stop blaming Bush on eroding the Constitution and the Iraq war. He had a little help from Congress. Yes those Democrats and Republicans we love to hate. They had to vote to invade Iraq too you know. And before you say Bush "cited bad intelligence" he wasn't the only one who had the intelligence clearings to see what the CIA was saying. We need to stop the Bush bashing and realize that Bush and Congress are BOTH to blame for getting us where we are today. I want a candidate that brings back my rights, and stops big business in invading my privacy. We need to take a page from the EU. Big business over there is watched closely when it comes to privacy. Also, stop the global warming fear mongering too. Before we invest a dime into something make sure it works before you spend millions. For you environmentalists let us build some nuclear power plants and the windmills. I'd look at a big windmill every day if I knew the Middle East wasn't getting any money from me. We need to become energy independent. That should be one of the top priorities of the next president.

  • Posted By: midnight05 @ 12/17/2007 9:06:08 AM

    Comment: FDR was right. We do have to fear fear. It can control our lives and our politics. Bush has used it to justify the erosion of our Constitution. We have to stand up to it and him and get our lives back.

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/17/2007 4:11:31 AM

    Comment: BARAK OBAMA needs to welcome the "EXPERIENCE" question. He needs to explain why he would consistently make the correct decisions as President. One question that people are anxious to know about is how will he handle those who try to undermine his Presidency. He needs to sight examples where his judgements were just as sound as Hillary's. He should not get defensive about the experience question because it is a legitimate concern. He needs endorsements of people he's work with in the past. People need to hear testimonies. If he is unable to bring all factions together how will he deal with it as President. He should mention that he learned from the Clinton's and studied them closely. He's learned from their successes and their mistakes and he has incorporated their experiences with his own. That the Clinton's experiences have only added to his life-long experiences. The true test is when things go wrong. Will Obama be able to keep things together. Hillary has proven that when things go wrong she can handle it.

    • Posted By: glock @ 12/17/2007 19:03:50

      Comment: And what exactly are Hillary's experiences? How has she proven that when things go wrong, she can handle it? Bill Clinton thought that experience was "overrated" when he ran in 1992, but now feels that it is very important. What changed his mind?

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/16/2007 9:26:46 PM

    Comment: This is why OBAMA leads Guilliani in the polls. THe latest POLLS indicate that OBAMA IS LEADING 51% to Guilliani's 43%. Guilliani would be a very, very divisive President.. He is a sick man, look at the way he uses 9/11. Look at his Arab money connections. This man needs to take of his DRESS and STOP SCARING PEOPLE. Guilliani is a clown and will never be President.

  • Posted By: Taratrue @ 12/16/2007 6:16:02 PM

    Comment: ....and while Obama is beating him in 2 polls and tied with him in 2 more, Clinton has beaten him in 13 of 14 recent polls. Including the last 4.

  • Posted By: ismellsomethingburning @ 12/16/2007 6:14:53 PM

    Comment: What about climate change scare tactics? Just because you dont find a issue as important or possing onto our future doesnt mean others dont. Many feel climate change is being used by many democrates as a scare tactic. Take a step back from your usual stance and rethink. You should always keep at least a 180 degree view.

  • Posted By: Taratrue @ 12/16/2007 6:14:02 PM

    Comment: ....and while Obama is beating him in 2 polls and they have tied n 2 more, Clinton is beating him in 13 of the last 14 polls. Including the last 4

  • Posted By: Braes @ 12/16/2007 4:15:19 PM

    Comment: Reigns of terror, and political prosecutions. Unitary Executive. War of Agression.
    Easy enough to run against? I'll take any D in any seat anywhere.

  • Posted By: eddiewhere @ 12/15/2007 11:35:06 PM

    Comment: This is why OBAMA leads Guilliani in the polls. THe latest POLLS indicate that OBAMA IS LEADING 51% to Guilliani's 43%. Guilliani would be a very, very devisive President.. He is a sick man, look at the way he uses 9/11. Look at his Arab money connections. This man needs to take of his DRESS and STOP SCARING PEOPLE. Guilliani is a clown and will never be President.

 
 
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