"There is no greater fear than the fear of the unknown."

[qqq 217]

"There is no greater fear than the fear of the unknown."

 

Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons why you feel any particular way towards your opinion.

 

I agree and disagree with this. If you were in battle with a new enemy, you won't know what they will do. Good as they can't play you about with threats. But without knowledge, we are blind to the future. The future could hold anything and then we cower in fear at the potential of something bad rather than relish the potential of something good.

[khaine21x3 789]

Disagree

 

The more you know, the more you will come to the realization that you're living a lie and all your opinions and perception of reality were never really yours.

[Doctor-Whooves 288]

I agree with this statement. There's a logical explanation to it. In the worlds of Albus Dumbledore, 'It's the unknown we fear when we look into the dark.'

[Retro*Derpy 3,183]

As stated before, Fear is denial. If you do not deny the unknown, you have nothing to fear. So no, that isn't the greatest fear. You should fear nothing but fear and denial itself.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Retro✮Derpy

[Scootalove 10,689]

Agreed.

 

When you fear something, you always expect what it will be. You won't expect it all, when it is unknown to your comprehension. But, when your in denial, the fear will go away.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Disagree

 

The more you know, the more you will come to the realization that you're living a lie and all your opinions and perception of reality were never really yours.

While it may be a depressing thought, Khaine is kind of right this time. The more you know about the universe, the more you'll realize that in reality all of your thoughts are just part of probability and that in reality you have no control over yourself.

 

When you come to the realization that consciousness is awareness of your actions and not control over them, it may be very depressing, but it's true. All people really do is respond to stimuli.

 

Another thing is that knowing things just makes the universe a genuinely scarier place. The more you know about the world around you the more threatening it seems.

[khaine21x3 789]

@,

 

That's what makes living and believing in the big lie so beautiful and that's actually why societies are able to exist as people are content with living their lives and believing in the lies.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

@,

 

That's what makes living and believing in the big lie so beautiful and that's actually why societies are able to exist as people are content with living their lives and believing in the lies.

Lies can be more comfortable than truths, but truths are helpful. I think there is some kind of equlibrium where you can believe enough lies and enough truths at the same time.

[khaine21x3 789]

Lies can be more comfortable than truths, but truths are helpful. I think there is some kind of equlibrium where you can believe enough lies and enough truths at the same time.

 

Don't we all? We would probably have killed ourselves if we know all the truths and reject all the lies that makes us able to carry on with our daily lives

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Don't we all? We would probably have killed ourselves if we know all the truths and reject all the lies that makes us able to carry on with our daily lives

It reminds me, since I'm Atheist, I've before asked someone why people believe in God. They said that it's a morale booster, if people didn't believe, they'd have nothing to live for, no excuse behind why bad things happen to them.

 

It's a valid but uncomfortable point.

[Mightymags 1,053]

Agree

 

 

 

Disagree

 

The more you know, the more you will come to the realization that you're living a lie and all your opinions and perception of reality were never really yours.

 

I think this only strengthens the argument. You fear the unknown because you fear what you will discover, you fear what you will come to know. You may fear that you're living a lie or your perception of reality isn't yours. The fear of the unknown is the fear of discovering these things. 

I agree with this statement. There's a logical explanation to it. In the worlds of Albus Dumbledore, 'It's the unknown we fear when we look into the dark.'

I think this explains it perfectly. That we fear what we do not yet know. 

 

The unknown is our greatest fear because it is the one thing we cannot control. We cannot know the unknown and therefore we can only discover the unknown by facing it directly. 

[khaine21x3 789]

It reminds me, since I'm Atheist, I've before asked someone why people believe in God. They said that it's a morale booster, if people didn't believe, they'd have nothing to live for, no excuse behind why bad things happen to them.

 

It's a valid but uncomfortable point.

 

I'm the only atheist in a country where it's punishable by death and my motivation for living is to free the people from oppressive groups/foreign power and give them a better living condition.I think that death would be worth it if I could accomplish and maintain it for the remainder of my days.

 

I might not be able to ever be happy but I want to make sure that future generations can be

Edited March 2, 2013 by khaine21x3

[Key Gear 6,663]

I think that there's two ways of looking at this. In my own mind, I'm not certain that I would classify the fear of the unknown as the most significant fear that exists. My reason for saying this is that some degree of fear of the unknown is essential to survival. Not every unknown needs to be explored, and a how they respect for that which is not known can lead to a longer life. Because, you see, it's possible to study things and then to come to know them.

 

However, on the flip side... If the fear of the unknown is so great within an individual or within a society that it leads to not exploring that unknown, then... Yes. This fear is the "greatest" because it has become self reinforcing. If the unknown feeds ignorance, then society will stagnate and it will be doomed to fail.

☣Harmonic Revelations☣, on 02 Mar 2013 - 12:38, said:

Another thing is that knowing things just makes the universe a genuinely scarier place. The more you know about the world around you the more threatening it seems.

This is an interesting perspective, but I'm pretty sure that it's not the correct perspective. You know, you can actually take it back to a time period where very little was known about anything. Let's go back. All the way back. Pick a time period prior to the industrial age. Pick any of them. For the sake of argument, let's go with preagricultural hunter-gatherer society.

 

Back in this time period, nothing was known. No science, no engineering, no modern tactics, no philosophy. Just get your food and munch it. Let's talk about threats. You had to fear being attacked by wild animals, starvation, every single possible type of disease, getting butchered by anyone that was stronger than you, etc, etc. How many of these things do you fear today? Do you believe that the probability of these things happening today is actually greater or less than it was during this earlier time period?

 

We can move forward quite a bit. Even if you look at the early agricultural societies, you still see an atmosphere of general unsophistication. At this point, you are in the earliest phases of what we now take for granted - logical thought and the power of invention to change things on a large scale. Even then though, many of the same fears from preagricultural society remained. I think it is worth noting that these fears were real fears. They were things that would cause you to feel that horrible sinking sensation associated with the more instinctual side of human thinking - the actual, visceral emotion of fear.

 

It's a simple thing to say that knowledge makes people afraid, but I think that the meaning of the word fear has been diluted from this earlier time. When you say fear, what do you mean? Do you refer to that horrible instinctual sensation that you are in grave danger? Or, are you just referring to some type of more abstract concept? If the latter is the case, then what is it and why should it concern us? If the former is the case, then I don't understand?

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

I'm the only atheist in a country where it's punishable by death and my motivation for living is to free the people from oppressive groups/foreign power and give them a better living condition.I think that death would be worth it if I could accomplish and maintain it for the remainder of my days.

 

Hidden deep behind their eyes

Is the knowledge of their lies

they do not tell their people truth

instead they oppress them forsooth

 

Why can we not be truly free

from foolish lies like religion and destiny

All they bring is death and despair

Spreading hate here and there

 

It's control, to imprison or minds

to the corrupt, faith binds

Giving them power over the people

making them into foolish sheeple

 

If we all just did a deed

learned the truth, then we'd be free

we'd stop the taking, start the giving

but we would no longer see it worthwhile living

 

I think that there's two ways of looking at this. In my own mind, I'm not certain that I would classify the fear of the unknown as the most significant fear that exists. My reason for saying this is that some degree of fear of the unknown is essential to survival. Not every unknown needs to be explored, and a how they respect for that which is not known can lead to a longer life. Because, you see, it's possible to study things and then to come to know them.

 

However, on the flip side... If the fear of the unknown is so great within an individual or within a society that it leads to not exploring that unknown, then... Yes. This fear is the "greatest" because it has become self reinforcing. If the unknown feeds ignorance, then society will stagnate and it will be doomed to fail.This is an interesting perspective, but I'm pretty sure that it's not the correct perspective. You know, you can actually take it back to a time period where very little was known about anything. Let's go back. All the way back. Pick a time period prior to the industrial age. Pick any of them. For the sake of argument, let's go with preagricultural hunter-gatherer society.

 

Back in this time period, nothing was known. No science, no engineering, no modern tactics, no philosophy. Just get your food and munch it. Let's talk about threats. You had to fear being attacked by wild animals, starvation, every single possible type of disease, getting butchered by anyone that was stronger than you, etc, etc. How many of these things do you fear today? Do you believe that the probability of these things happening today is actually greater or less than it was during this earlier time period?

 

We can move forward quite a bit. Even if you look at the early agricultural societies, you still see an atmosphere of general on sophistication. At this point, you are in the earliest phases of what we now take for granted - logical thought and the power of invention to change things on a large scale. Even then though, many of the same fears from preagricultural society remained. I think it is worth noting that these fears were real fears. A were things that would cause you to feel that horrible sinking sensation associated with the more instinctual side of human thinking - the actual, visceral emotion of fear.

 

It's a simple thing to say that knowledge makes people afraid, but I think that the meaning of the word fear has been diluted from this earlier time. When you say fear, what do you mean? Do you refer to that horrible instinctual sensation that you are in grave danger? Or, are you just referring to some type of more abstract concept? If the latter is the case, then what is it and why should it concern us? If the former is the case, then I don't understand?

I think you misunderstand me, I mean scary in an existential way. It makes us realize just how meaningless we are in the grand scheme of things, knowing that one day it will all end, and none of it will matter.

[khaine21x3 789]

 let's go with preagricultural hunter-gatherer society.

 

Back in this time period, nothing was known. No science, no engineering, no modern tactics, no philosophy. Just get your food and munch it. Let's talk about threats. You had to fear being attacked by wild animals, starvation, every single possible type of disease, getting butchered by anyone that was stronger than you, etc, etc. How many of these things do you fear today? Do you believe that the probability of these things happening today is actually greater or less than it was during this earlier time period?

 

We can move forward quite a bit. Even if you look at the early agricultural societies, you still see an atmosphere of general on sophistication. At this point, you are in the earliest phases of what we now take for granted - logical thought and the power of invention to change things on a large scale. Even then though, many of the same fears from preagricultural society remained. I think it is worth noting that these fears were real fears. A were things that would cause you to feel that horrible sinking sensation associated with the more instinctual side of human thinking - the actual, visceral emotion of fear.

 

It's a simple thing to say that knowledge makes people afraid, but I think that the meaning of the word fear has been diluted from this earlier time. When you say fear, what do you mean? Do you refer to that horrible instinctual sensation that you are in grave danger? Or, are you just referring to some type of more abstract concept? If the latter is the case, then what is it and why should it concern us? If the former is the case, then I don't understand?

 

Primitive tribes living in straw huts hunting animals for food still exist in my area but they have one thing that none of us here do - genuine happiness

[Betez 1,734]

Honestly, I do. A lot of phobias stem from the fear of the unknown. It's basically what leads to nearly every fear there is. We're humans, we like to know things. When we don't know things, it scares us.

 

Also, I feel like "Fear" is a very deep concept that only very few have ever been able to fully comprehend the meaning of. It can mean many things.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Betez

[Key Gear 6,663]

I think you misunderstand me, I mean scary in an existential way. It makes us realize just how meaningless we are in the grand scheme of things, knowing that one day it will all end, and none of it will matter.

So, you are saying that it is preferable to remain ignorant of all knowledge than to be aware of how small one is within the overall context of the universe?

 

I'm afraid that that is impossible for me to understand or identify with this perspective. Because, the natural extent of this viewpoint is that it is better to lock oneself away in the safety of having no knowledge than it is to go out and explore.

Primitive tribes living in straw huts hunting animals for food still exist in my area but they have one thing that none of us here do - genuine happiness

Genuine happiness? ... Once again, I don't think I can understand this viewpoint. Living with dramatically reduced lifespans due to lack of adequate disease control, nutritional intake, and the danger brought about by environmental issues is genuine happiness? The stats on infant mortality in these places is more than enough to horrify. How is having a high chance of losing a child the key to genuine happiness?

 

I think that the problem is that we have lost track of what genuine happiness actually is. As members of society that are privileged enough to be able to have computers and working Internet connections, we've never had to experience the soul-crushing horrors that this so-called "genuinely happy" lifestyle actually involves. So, we romanticize what we don't understand, what we've never experienced.

 

It's far too easy to take for granted what you have intrinsically and what you experience every single day. I would challenge you to give up everything and go live in a more primitive setting for three years. Trust me. Upon your return, you would have a slightly different perspective on the question of whether or not it is "genuine happiness" to live in a primitive society.

 

Or, if you would like to save yourself the trouble, then you need to go and just do a bit of digging around about what exactly these societies consist of. While it wasn't a hunter-gatherer society, I had a chance to venture around some of the more impoverished areas of Latin America about 5 years ago. I was... Humbled by some of the things that I saw, and I am fully aware of how little I actually did see. I'm quite certain that I would have been slapped if I'd talked about how "happy" they were.

[khaine21x3 789]

@@Key Gear,

 

Genuine happiness isn't something that is related to lifespan, material wealth, lifestyle or anything else.You will know that they are genuinely happy when you see those primitive people and their behaviour, it is that simple.

 

and 3 months? I've lived in a jungle longer than that and you know what? I like it a lot more living in isolation with all the dangers you mentioned than living with the 'civilized' man, I've came in contact with the uncivilized and they're a lot more friendly and genuine than the civilized man.

 

I've lived in a time where I had to ride a horse chariot to go places, where animals were free ranged and ate natural diet and computers didn't exist.

 

None of it matters

Edited March 2, 2013 by khaine21x3

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

So, you are saying that it is preferable to remain ignorant of all knowledge than to be aware of how small one is within the overall context of the universe?

 

 I am all for knowledge, I love knowledge, and I love knowing things about everything. All I'm saying is that there are people who lack the willpower to continue on with themselves once they realize that they're just going to wither away eventually. I'm not saying that knowledge is bad, I'm saying some people just can't handle it.

 

Primitive tribes living in straw huts hunting animals for food still exist in my area but they have one thing that none of us here do - genuine happiness

Happiness does not exist. it is a method of control. The reason I say that happiness doesn't exist is that it feels different for every person experiencing it.

[khaine21x3 789]

 Happiness does not exist. it is a method of control. The reason I say that happiness doesn't exist is that it feels different for every person experiencing it.

 

It does but I've noticed that smaller communities in small villages or primitive tribe living with people they know and genuinely care about tend to be happy.

 

It's just a simple feeling which is easily observed in a person's facial expression and body language.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

It does but I've noticed that smaller communities in small villages or primitive tribe living with people they know and genuinely care about tend to be happy.

 

It's just a simple feeling which is easily observed in a person's facial expression and body language.

It's probably because the less you have, the more grateful you become for what you do have, and it gives you more time to figure out which things actually hold value, and which things do not.

[khaine21x3 789]

@,

 

I think that we know what we value but we're just unable to manifest them due to deeply rooted political elite and the existence of government.We're told that we should be happy with rising living standards and new technologies but those aren't what we truly value, we've willingly sacrifice part of humanity's social aspect and natural living environment for growth and industrialization.

 

I'm not saying that advances are a problem but the infrastructure, social norms, laws and portrayal of lifestyle in the media/government that ends up imprisoning us within a system where we're all parts of one big machine.

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

@,

 

I think that we know what we value but we're just unable to manifest them due to deeply rooted political elite and the existence of government.We're told that we should be happy with rising living standards and new technologies but those aren't what we truly value, we've willingly sacrifice part of humanity's social aspect and natural living environment for growth and industrialization.

 

I'm not saying that advances are a problem but the infrastructure, social norms, laws and portrayal of lifestyle in the media/government that ends up imprisoning us within a system where we're all parts of one big machine.

 

I agree, but on some level it was inevitable. Even without government society will actively work against people who go against the social norms. (For anyone who disagrees about that, remember what fandom you're a part of)

[khaine21x3 789]

I agree, but on some level it was inevitable. Even without government society will actively work against people who go against the social norms. (For anyone who disagrees about that, remember what fandom you're a part of)

 

I live in a multi ethnc and religious neighbourhood with no muslims guarded by mercenaries while 95% of the country are muslims and most of them are violent radical ones, it works when a group of people who have some similar values live together and a small neighborhood government even exist.

 

And another thing is education,huge parts of it such as language and history are propaganda crap.Humans will develop new languages and culture when separated so governments impose laws and mandatory education to retain power along with media portrayal of certain cultures and lifestyle.

 

Having a government that government a huge amount of people leads to discontent as people want different lifestyles, systems, new languages and cultures and having a government that big always creates an elite ruling class that perpetuates itself whether it be monarchs, political oligarchy, capitalists , technocrats or dictators.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Key Gear
Off-topic.

[Minath Khalsi 195]

Disagree

 

I think the thing to fear is fear itself. Some things won't scare you in certain situations, while it may frighten you in others. Fear is like a cold knife in your heart, and it's scary that you can't control that.