I would suggest that perhaps fear stems from our awareness of things that threaten our survival. With survival being the driving force of life anything that threatened it would cause anxiety or fear. As for guilt, it's not something that i feel too often but I would think that it is a feeling that you have let yourself down by not living up to the standards that you have set for yourself. Or perhaps those standards are someone elses and you need to set your own.
Gord is pretty close to hitting the nail on the head ... Fear stems from two things: (1) the threatening of your survival, and (2) the threatening of your quality of life and/or change (including morals as well as things like smoking pot =P). It's a natural reaction that EVERYONE has (even if they don't admit it). I just want to take the time to point out that, concerning fear, there is a difference between bravery and courage: Bravery is when you do something because you want to ... because you are not afraid of the consequences, or because there are no consequences to be afraid of. Bravery is when you jump on a trampoline, do a backflip off a diving board, grind a rail when you skate or snowboard, etc. Courage is when you do something that you don't want to do, either out of obligation or out of consideration for other people. One might say that jumping off of a 3 story building is courageous because your friends dare you to, even if you don't want to ... but that is not courage; you are afraid for your well being, not the being of other people. Courage is when you go off to fight on the battlefield for your King, or when you run into a burning building to save your child, or even simply when you push someone out of harm's way, even if it puts yourself in harm's way. Courage is simply when you either risk or sacrifice something about yourself for another person. Bravery is only when you risk something for yourself or for your ego. That being said, guilt is also a natural reaction, but it is something that, with the proper lifestyle, can be avoided (unlike fear). I've been able to stay guilt-free for the past few years, because whenever courage is needed, I always do my very best to deliver. I am not brave, but I AM courageous, and I go out of my way to help other people. Guilt is felt only when you do NOT live up to the challenge of courage; guilt is felt when you let somebody down (which is almost always a small case of "I am sacrificing my time to help someone out"), and it is felt when you could have saved a life, but didn't. Guilt is natural only to those who can live without perfect moral direction. It is also said that guilt, and desire are the main reasons why people have dreams. Both are "natural" by normal standards, but are not found in people of virtue ... I can safely say I haven't had a (sensible =P) dream for a good 4 years or so ... and that makes me quite happy. I urge you to try and live the same way. =) Cheers, and good luck!
Freud argues the id, ego, and superego. Freud argues that a balance between the three is necessary for healthy human life. I disagree with Frued, I argue that healthy human life can only be obtained by strengthening the superego (becoming more virtuous and respectful; following rules, etc.). I also argue that this can only be done to the degree of a person's willpower (which can also be argued as the ego sometimes).
Figured I'd copy that here since it was in the other thread noone's replying to. Noone seems to like any threads in the Christian forum unless they're made by Christians themselves or they feel they have to defend themselves against the thread maker.
If you feel guilt and fear constantly, then I assume the "we" you refer to is a group of mentally, physically, or spiritually ill people. I, for one, don't. Never guilt, sometimes fear. More often just straight-out incomprehension. Mostly pertaining to why people make such poor choices. Poor choices in the sense that the people are not prepared for the results, rather than in the sense that they're things I wouldn't do.
cultural perspectives and expectations mostly though there is also a baseline subconscous realization whether or not we recognize it consciously that the more harm there is floating arround the more likely everyone including ourselves is to be injured by it and the more harm anyone causes the more there is floating arround i don't know about the constantly part except for people who are so coerced by the values and assumptions that surround them that they end up prioritising these ahead of the avoidance of causing harm =^^= .../\...
i disgagree almsot completely with the definitions of courage and bravery at the top. a 'brave knight' would be brave but not want to go to battle. the couragous cancer victim would be holding on for themselves, not for someone else. bravery and courage are not two defined classes of resisting fear. they overlap often in meaning, and can be used to describe eachother even. fear is something that we can overcome mostly. unless your having a psychotic episode or jsut a panic attack, fear can always be overcome. this becomes easily apparent when youve got stoned in public a lot
id have to disagree and say that the id is important also, maybe not as important as the superego but, as freud said, a balance. you gotta have some fun for a healthy human life.
Hari How about this. The majority of Humans live in constant terror of death. But never think about it. [unless reminded] It drives the ego and the things the ego will do to make itself seem immortal to itself. Self esteem. Individuallity. pride. power over others. Fame. Infamy... CONTROL All driven by a fear...That one day each and every one of us is fertillizer. And one day ...we will be.. So what. If you have done ALL you can do to make the only thing of value. Your thoughts. Known to others. Your heart..Given to others. Then you have done well... For few EVER do these things, They spend all their time trying to live longer or agonising over their future nonexistance. They turn to religion to find a way out of death. IS there a way out... Occam cares not... For he has had 45 human years of life and existance. A gift we all get for no apparent reason. So he uses that gift to work out why he has it... NOT..trying to find MORE of what he has. Religion is at its core ... A human organisation that promisses more existance. Thus. People WANT to believe it. Occam
