Do you think knowledge causes fear?

Question

Thanks for you kindly responses!

Answer 1

If you don't realize something you won't be afraid, but if you do you will be on your guard and more equipped to handle the thing that would make you afraid.

I think if not handled correctly and if the person is feeling like there is nothing they can do to stop it, then that knowledge would be frightening.

Answer 2

It can, but generally I think fear is bred of ignorance. Not knowing causes fear more than knowledge ever could. This may seem off topic, but I think it's valid here, but I've always thought that maybe that's what the Bible is about. It might be a reflection of man's worst fears, at a time when people had limited knowledge of the universe and had to create some meaning or order in their lives. Just my opinion, though.

Answer 3

Knowledge doesn't 'cause' fear, it merely makes you aware of the problem.

Answer 4

depends what you know

if you know your on a plane that about to crash of course you'd be afraid but if you know you just got straight a's why would you be afraid?

Answer 5

Yes knowledge administered without full comprehension and understanding can create a subconscious fearfulness. Awareness of one’s environment, germs in ones water supply, free roaming pollutants in the air we breathe can cause anxiety if consciousness is not attuned to filter out such harmful views or place them in context with one’s ability to overcome and neutralise such causal incidentals about us.

If the amassing of knowledge were simply a matter of reading and learning the world would become a collective genius, it is not. Education and the gaining of knowledge is a Science of reacting appropriately to receptors in the brain and knowledge is the subconscious hindering assimilation.

Knowledge requires judgment and mental protective mechanisms to protect the fragile psyche from incurring unnecessary trauma to the senses that may result in a closing of one’s mind to further understanding from the fear of information likely to offend the senses or the delicate sensitivities of a fearful individual.  

Answer 6

no fear but fear itself cause fear because it's fear of no fear.

Answer 7

That is why Adam felt the fear of God... turned out to be a snake that fell from the tree of knowledge because he had too many questions...he just couldn't leaf it out.

Answer 8

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing as it makes us feear things without the full extend of the knowledge on the subject.

Knowledge per say does not cause fear but assumptions do!

Answer 9

Incomplete knowledge may cause fear, understanding dispels both fear and confusion and frees man in the doing.

Answer 10

Knowledge is power, ignorance causes fear.

Answer 11

Absolutely!

Knowledge of a certain idea causes fear. Having knowledge of something allows us to be aware of a thing. Let me site an example, avian influenza or what we commonly called bird flu gives us the idea of fear if pandemic happened to humans. There is a terrible fear among humans if this dreadful disease is transmitted to humans. However, having no knowledge of such disease may bring calmness among individuals unknowingly of the imminent danger it brings. In other words, the mind itself controls our senses.

On one hand, the ignorance of such a thing brings fear to for want of knowledge. Supertitious belief is a good example. Because of lack of proper knowledge, they rely on what they beleive in from their forefathers. Ignorance diverts them from the real truth.

Yes. Fear is a kind of awareness as set in my example.

Thanks for asking. Have a great day!

Interesting question!

Answer 12

somtimes but not all the time...it depends on what knowledge and how much you have...like people often say that because the mayan calander ends in 2012 the world will end...they need to get more knowledge because the calendar has dates after 2012...thus making 2012 not the end of the world

Answer 13

I agree with you..I think fear is a part of all of us to a certain extent. I think it is sort of an inherent safety feature in some cases....it can make us more cautious and aware. Whether you are smart or not....

I also think that some knowledge can be a little scary - be careful what you search for - you just might find something you may not like...

Insecurities can also create fear.

Answer 14

well i dont think it should be called FEAR

i think it is more of alert to the one who knows

also it depends on the person who knows some people know and be afraid others know and become ready

Answer 15

Sometimes Yes.  The knowledge of impending death causes fear in the dying as well as those close to the patient.  

It is not for nothing said that Ignorance is Bliss.

Answer 16

It is not knowledge that either causes fear or does not cause fear...for fear already resides in the psyche of a being, based on the accumulated experience from this and/or other lifetimes. Knowledge can certainly help overcome fear...if appropriately applied.  Then, too, ignorance can operate in either direction as well.  So much depends on the individual in question, their motivation, intention, and their resources. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated in his inaugural speech, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  

i am Sirius  

Answer 17

"Irrational Fear", has many faces and manifests itself in various sub-emotions such as anxiety,worry,restlessness etc...Most often this type of needless fear, is fueled by wrong thinking...Identify the thinking behind a perceived negative emotion,replace with positive truth...This mental exercise,if used habitually,can change one's countenance...

Answer 18

No, the reverse.  Lack of knowledge/ignorance, in my opinion, is the root of fear.

Fear is often connected to pain (e.g. some fear heights because if they fall, they may suffer severe injury or even die upon landing). Many theorists, such as Watson and Ekman, have suggested that fear is one of several basic, innate emotions (e.g. joy and anger). Fear is a survival mechanism, and usually occurs in response to a specific negative stimulus.

Answer 19

yes, if you are a wrong doer or  happen to be witness of crime.  

Answer 20

i think it can, but wisdom i think is the opposite. it is said that people with great wisdom do not need to have great knowledge, but people with great knowledge often lack wisdom. i cant think it would be nice knowing how to destroy something e.g. knowing how to make an atomic bomb. my great uncle designed nuclear submarines for the royal navy, but was then diagnosed with schizophrenia. it makes you think if it was paranoia from knowing too much in a sense which caused it. very interesting question. thank you.

Answer 21

When there is limitation there is fear,it is nothing to do with

the knowledge.

Answer 22

With your definition of fear, yes, it's possible.

My definition is simply that FEAR is associated with the UNKNOWN. Once a person recognizes, understands and accepts the UNKNOWN then fear dissipates; hence, one is no longer afraid. Fear may turn to caution once the person has acknowledged the UNKNOWN for what it really is.

Answer 23

There can be freedom from fear only when there is self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is the beginning of wisdom, which is the ending of fear.

Answer 24

I don't think knowledge (or lack of it) causes fear. In all instances, I believe that it is our interpretation of our circumstances that causes us to fear. For instance, if you compared two peoples' response to the same situation, one might react in a fearful way while one might not. Why would this be the case if the situation was identical for both people? The only real reason is that one regarded this sensory input as threatening or upsetting while the other one did not.

A wise man who was considered a sage was confined to a wheelchair because of advanced disease. His disease caused terrible pain, yet he remained serene. One of his followers asked how he could stay in a calm state with his severe level of pain. He replied that pain was something his body sensed, but that he ultimately chose how to experience it. He acknowledged the pain, but had chosen not to focus on it, and therefore not to suffer.

Could it be the same way with fear? I think so. We always choose how we will interpret our experiences. That is why some people seem to move forward with peace of mind while others don't.

Answer 25

By "knowledge," I assume you mean only knowledge of frightening things.

A tendency to be afraid of something should you become knowledgable about it combined with the knowledge of that something produce fear.  Therefore, knowledge is necessary for but not sufficient to feeling fear.

Answer 26

KNOWLEGDE only causes fear if you know to much and there is no

solution.If there is a solution there is an awareness .

Answer 27

fear is knowledge of pain... so yes we do think knowledge causes fear... to be aware is to have knowledge...

Answer 28

Fear is allusive it hides from us

When you make yourself present fear disappears............

Fear is the future that has not yet happened............

Answer 29

Does Knowledge cause Fear?

Yes of course, ask any child who knows the bully is waiting to pummel him after school.

No, if the child knew the bully was waiting for him, he could have an adult deal with it, and be free of the fear.

Vice-Versa.

Can you be ignorant and still afraid?

If you are unaware that the bully is going to pummel you, then No, ignorance would mitigate that scenario.

Could you be ignorant of the fact that if you notified an adult, the bully would be dispatched accordingly, and thus free of the fear? Yes.

However, Knowledge or ignorance does not create the emotion, anxiety, or Fear. In other terms:

Our past experiences, the person we believe we are, the value we place on security, these things build the infrastructure that manifest our response to fear. Another question you could ask: Is Fear a Learned behavior?

Answer 30

No, its the reverse I believe.