Fear is a strong emotion to rule over people and change their consequences of action. Objects of fear vary greatly. Some fear bugs while others fear losing their job. Lovers may fear breaking up while old people fear death.
Even though the object we fear differ, isn’t our fear ultimately the same?
Is what we are afraid of what we are really afraid of or is our fear just the intense imagination that we made?
Man experiences fear for the following reason:
Man is enlightened (in whatever way, form, or manner) of something totaly unique and new to him.
Man has really no pre-made “procedure” to use in figuring out how to deal with whatever is causing him to fear.
Man realizes and begins to acknowledge the fact that the object of his fear is not easily “figured-out”.
Man realizes that the fear is being increasingly powerfull over him. Man wants to regain power over the object of his fear, but is totaly ignorant of how to do so. Hence, Man usually backs away, and avoids the object of his fear.
In Short, the root of fear is the “unknown”. 
…just my two cents.
Paul Tillich, a theologian said
However, does fear really have a tangible object? Is what we fear what we really fear?
If I fear a grasshopper, is it that grasshopper I am afraid of or is my fear toward something else such as my own imagination that I fear a grasshopper or ugliness?
BMW-Guy said
I agree in a sense that the actual root of fear differs from what we seem to fear. However, isn’t the root of fear sometimes obvious?
I think root of fear can be categorized into three: loss, pain, and imagination. When lovers are afraid of breaking up, they fear losing their love. When people fear death, they fear the loss of life. Rich people may fear decrease in the price of stock because they fear the loss of assets. Pain is more obvious root of fear. If someone fear lions, he may fear the harm lions might cause him. If someone is afraid of riding on a rollercoaster, he might be afraid of falling off from it and getting hurt. If someone has an acrophobia or an anthrophobia, he is afraid if falling from a high place or meeting other people will caause him pain.
Imagination is also another root of fear. Since the root of fear differs from the object of fear, and thus it is unknown to some extent, our imagination intensifies our fear. Imagination is rather an intensifier of fear of loss or pain.
There are only three things men need fear death, impotence, and boredom.
I wouldn’t say men need to fear those things…but I would say those are some things men try to avoid.
Do they not terrify you in your most “rational” sense?
First, I think there needs to be made a distinction between rational and irrational fear. Phobias are irrational; other fears, such as, I’ve fallen into a snake pit and now I’m very afraid for my life are perfectly justified – these fears seem to be hard wired due to evolution. Still other fears such as psychological fears: I’m afraid people won’t like me, I’m afraid I won’t suceed, I’m afraid that my current philosophy is wrong, I’m afraid I don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m afraid of being alone ect., seem to be rational and serve a purpose. For example, they move us toward action. If lets say, I am afraid of being alone, I may go out and take action to meet someone. Therefore, some fears serve postive purposes. Other fears do not, such as the fear of being rejected. This fear, however, is due to what we do not understand. Once we understand what rejection is, once we examine it, we are no longer afraid of it.
Furthermore, we seem to cling to a certain amount of certainty and when something threatens that certainty we tend to fear it. We may fear death because we fear impermanence. Why? Because we don’t understand impermanence.
We may also fear rats – for a multitude of reasons – perhaps, it’s an evolutionary instinct, perhaps some movie that we saw as a child conditioned us to fear rats, perhaps we saw someone else afraid of rats so we justified that we too should have something to fear about rats. Yet, if we examine what it is that we are really afraid about rats, if we examine a rat, attempt to understand a rat, we no longer fear rats because we now understand rats – we move from our imagination to reality.
I think, the object of what we fear is the consequence of what we imagine an event, person/animal or thing to do. We fear this consequence because either we have had no exprience of this event and so fear what we do not understand, or have allready had exprience with an event, know the consequences which have been painful to us, and therefore have formed a fear of said event, thing/action.
As far as to what fear is, I think, It’s simple: Thought. Rational or irrational, it seems be all caused by thought. A baby is not afraid of heights, s/he has no concept of what it means to fall and die. But as the child grows older and begins to develop certain refrences from his or her personal exprience and as s/he learns about cause and effects, he or she develops fear. Fear is taught by what a childs parent’s fear and by what society seems to fear; hence, a child may develop irrational fears, such as the fear of going to hell when one dies. Yet fear is all in the mind. When we exprience a physiological reaction to the fear – our hearts begin to race, we sweat – this orginates from thought. My heart races when I speak infront of my class. Why? Unconsiously I am afraid of showing myself to others, I feel strained when others put so much attention on me, hence a physiological reaction.
Your opinions?
Edit: spelling, grammar.
Perhaps but do you fear impotence, not in an afraid of the dark way but in another more definite way. Hmmm perhaps what I speak of is not really fear but something else.
read all your definitions of fear, but im afraid of sitting with my back to the room. no one lese has done this, im not scared of pain from it, imagination or loss. so why do i have this fear. im not scare of anything in particular i just can’t sit with my back the room, i shake i sweati freak out… any explainations.
also on a another point fear can be a good thing, why are rollercoasters so popular, the fear exhiliration, haunted houses etc… maybe fear is something that can be enjoyed… i’m probably talking rubbish, who knows…
Perhaps it is, because fear really doesn’t describe whatever it is your getting at. Perhaps the absence of hope?
Well, it has been argued that fear creates a ‘fight or flight’ response, both of which trigger the release of adrenaline, which can cause the sort of rush felt on roller coasters and the like.
Of Course, modern man has more to fear than, say, a large furry tiger running after us… we experience ( I would guess) a less direct kind of fear when we think about our mortgages, our GPA’s, little Suzie’s recital, and so on. There is no fight or flight for this, instead we have what might be termed, stress. Science is just now examining the impact of stress on the mind and body, indications are that the impact is not a positive one.
i was talking about the fight or flight sydrome on another thread… cool!!! i liked your point, it made sense, but still sitting with my back to a room?
I like to sit facing the door, so I can see who might wander in. I trace this back to me wanting to live forever.
how are the two connected?
I should ask why it is you cannot sit with your back to a room?
i don’t know. i guess the simple answer is because when i do i get scared and shakey and sometimes sweaty and i can’t do it, there’s no actual reason i just can’t and i’m not a very good conversationalist when im scared and shakey so i avoid it…
feel free to analyse
Rational and Irrational fears are the same. They are all fears based on the unknown.
Rational fear - falling from high building, fear - death (unknown).
Irrational fear - rats - fear, rats are unknown, potentially dangerous creatures, which may harm you but do not yet know in what ways. (unknown)
All fear is based on the unknown.
Well, do you feel you might be afraid because the people behind you might be talking about you? Like maybe they are commenting on your hair style or choice in underwear for the day?
Do you think it might be because you might be missing out on what the others are doing behind you? Maybe they are whispering about something you would like to talk about?
Or, do you think it might be because, as you cannot see them, you have no idea what they might be doing, one or more of them might be creeping up behind you as you sit?
Given the strength of your reaction, I would venture to say that it is the third, which leads me to think that what you fear is a possible threat…
i would say if any it would be the third…
can’t be the first cos i have great hair 
and always wear amazing underwear can’t be the second cos i don’t see how other people’s conversations could incur that kind of reaction. but why wouldi be scared of someone creeping up on me. it must have come from somewhere musn’t it. but i have been scared of sitting with my back to a room for as long as i remember… i tend to think it might just me cos im wierd. 