An interesting video here - from Yale - on the Fear of Death: Maybe I should adopt the cross-legged, converse-and-jeans look for my RPE301 lectures? Dave
I feel as if he equivocates on the definition of "fear". There is a sense of fear that is for small uncertain things ("I fear you have mistaken my intent") and another for the very unpleasant. Indeed, in his electric shock example, even though the electric shock was certain, it seems to me quite reasonable to expect the subject to "fear" the pain, as it's of another type. I suppose he could claim that that these two kinds of fear are just what he is saying, a rational fear, and an irrational, but that strikes me as begging the question.
I feel as if he equivocates on the definition of "fear". There is a sense of fear that is for small uncertain things ("I fear you have mistaken my intent") and another for the very unpleasant. Indeed, in his electric shock example, even though the electric shock was certain, it seems to me quite reasonable to expect the subject to "fear" the pain, as it's of another type. I suppose he could claim that that these two kinds of fear are just what he is saying, a rational fear, and an irrational, but that strikes me as begging the question.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out the video.
cheers,
ric