Throughout the Animal Kingdom, most species experience instinctual fear, triggered by sights, sounds, and smells that threaten their welfare or survival, We humans, endowed with a large, complex brain, experience fear in various forms.
During childhood, fear is often a constructive emotion; fear of punishment or injury molds our social behavior. On the other hand, irrational fears (e.g. mysticism, fear of non-threatening insects, etc.) is also instilled during these formative years.
As adults, we have many appropriate fears that govern our behavior, generally induced when risk outweighs benefit. But, depending on our experience and psychological development, we may also fear interpersonal commitments, new challenges and the unknown, among other aspects of life. Some fear overwhelms courage, limiting action that would be constructive for ourselves, our family or society as a whole; Republican Congress members, frozen by the tyranny of Trump and his minions, offer a good example.
