3 June 2016
1. Fear, Reason, & My Humors
Fear is a terrific warning system and a terrible navigation system.
Fear is an immediate, visceral response compelling us to fight, flight, or faint. The fear function is buried deep within the brain and if not overridden by commands from the pilot—our reasoning ability—we default almost randomly between the three impulses and forgo action by deliberate choice.
I want to make note of the problem of fear at the inauguration of this series centers on concerns. Concern, of course, arises in part from fear, but it also arises from care. Both of these senses of concern are at play here. I'm not writing to fear-monger or as an exercise in public handwringing. I write to inform action. And by action, I mean the ability to make informed, strategic choices leading to reasoned ends. I distinguish this concept of action from behavior, which is governed by instinct and social imitation; that is, non-thinking responses.
I forewarn you about my perhaps jarring contradictions. I am by nature and by unearned good fortune, an optimist. I'm usually of a sunny disposition. Life has been good to me. But while I possess a pleasant mixture of sanguine and phlegmatic dispositions, my melancholic side impels me in another direction. I can be quite sensitive to perceived threats to our well-being. I’m a person who thinks about this and that, what’s wrong, and what ought to be otherwise. Perhaps this creates the right balance between my humors. You may think of me as a happy, brooding introvert.
So I will comment on matters of concern to the commonweal. It is intended most often as a warning—yes, a fear signal—but I also intend to include ideas about how we can reasonably and rationally alleviate threats to our mutual well-being and thoughtfully address the challenges presented to us.
