Skip to main content
Customer Review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 August 2020
Book about the way our relationship with fear has changed in modern times. We used to be able to deal with fear more easily than we can now - religious narratives gave us ways of understanding and coping with existential fear, but post-secularisation has led increasingly to a society which is fragmented, uncertain and less able to view fear through the lens of a coherent narrative; increasingly we have come to fear fear: finding ways of avoiding it rather than coping with it. We have developed a culture of risk aversion, where we avoid troubling things, rather than develop coping strategies, or the means to overcome fears. The modern world is all about safe spaces, avoiding confrontation, fear of insulting or 'bullying' others, micro-aggressions", etc. Fear, and dealing with it, should be seen as part of a broader narrative, underpinned by positive values, such as community spirit, heroism, and self-sacrifice, as opposed to individual obsessions with safety, 'survival', and victimhood. Excellent book.
