International Journal of Fear Studies
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International Journal of Fear Studies is an open-access peer-reviewed online journal. IJFS was founded in 2018 by R. Michael Fisher, Ph.D. (Sen. Editor).
Its purpose is to promote the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of fear. It is the first journal of its kind with a focus on the nature and role of fear and on innovations in methodologies, pedagogies and research inquiries that expand the fear imaginary beyond what is commonly assumed as how best to know and manage fear.
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Contents of this journal are copyrighted by the authors and/or artists and should not be reproduced without their permission. Permission is not required for appropriate quote excerpts of material, other than poetry, which are to be used for educational purposes.
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Item Open Access A Rejoinder to R. Michael Fisher's Critique: "The Love and Fear Problem: A Response to Michael Bassey Eneyo"(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-02-24) Eneyo, Michael B.In recent times the concept ÒfearÓ has received much academic attention from a group of researchers known as Fearism (Subba) and Fearlessness Movement (Fisher). The main purpose of this new area of research is to know insightfully the role of fear and its relationship with all living beings. This article comes as a response to an invitation from R. Michael Fisher to me, to give clarifications to some of my claims in my two books; Philosophy of Fear and Philosophy of Unity, in which I advanced my theory on fear and love among others. In these books, I maintain the opinion that, though fear and love are primary motivational concepts, love is the grand motivational word and phenomenon. Clearly, the force of love is greater than the force of fear in any decision making venture. I stated in those books that Fisher and Subba hold a somewhat contrary opinion. They argue that fear is greater. Fisher had written an article (published in 2019 International Journal of Fear Studies, 1(2)) in reaction to my view and then asked for my response. The response herein is intended to give us all an opportunity to clear the misconceptions and lacuna characterizing our ways of presenting our views and the concepts we use. It will also help us to understand each otherÕs views on love and fear more clearly and to expand our studies of fear and the new constructs introduced by different fear scholars and how they are used in different contexts.Item Open Access A Sea of Future Feelings(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2019) Kalu, Osinakachi AkumaItem Open Access An analysis of reverential ecofear in Theyyam: A ritualistic performance of North-Malabar(In Search of Fearlessness Research Intitute & The Fearology Institute, 2021-04-08) Rithwik Sankar A.Theyyam is a ritualistic performance in the North-Malabar region of Kerala, India. It carries ritualistic elements such as worship and penance along with the convergence of various forms like dance, painting, and music. The legendary and mythical characters in Theyyam performances are acted out by artistically skilled men of the exploited sections of the society including Malayas, Pulayas, Vannans, Velans, and Thiyyas. Though the performance of Theyyam by the subaltern communities signals the fearless resistance against the prevailing hierarchies and hegemonies in the society, it also has been used by the system as an ideological means to contain the oppositions or resistance from its subjects. The ritualistic expression of fear and respect forms the basis of each Theyyam performances. Often, people's fear of nature is ritualistically manifested through Theyyam performance. People's fear is concerned mainly with the matters of diseases, reproduction and yield in agriculture. These concerns are well articulated in different folk narratives including Kothamooriyattam, Kaliyanattam and the Theyyam performances including Muchilottu Bagavathi and Pulimaranja Thondachan Theyyam. The knowledge about nature acquired through a keen observation of natural cycles and other changes in nature by the ancient people is manifested in these ritual performances. This paper critically examines the influence of fear, using the concepts of ecofear and ecophobia, in the formulation of goddesses in Theyyam worship and the connection between the paraphernalia of Theyyam with nature. It examines the case of Theyyottukavu, a sacred grove in the district of Kannur in the light of the concept of ecofear. The paper also, analyses Theyyam and certain Theyyam myths by incorporating the theories of fear studies formulated by the fearologist R. M. Fisher.Item Open Access An Experimental Opportunity: Using Mindful Stories in the Mindful Consideration of Fear(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-02-24) Bell, SimonIn this article the issue of fear management practice is discussed in terms of the discourse around mindfulness and an experiential engagement is provided. The article describes two heuristics and then brings them together in a process which the author invites you to engage with. First, in terms of fear analysis, the heuristic for fear diagnosis called the Paradigm of Fear is introduced. PoF relates to concepts of Weapon, Target, Emotion, State. These are described in overview. Secondly, a heuristic relating to mindful assessments is reviewed, concepts of Meaning, Relevance, Value, Insight and Action are introduced. Following this, readers are invited to engage with a Mindful Story, a story which already contains the fear heuristic. Following reading the Mindful Story, the reader is asked to further engage with it using MRVIA and make their own personal assessment of their fear analysis and any reflections or actions which might arise. A discussion of the likely and useful outcomes of such assessment follows and finally, the paper closes with conclusions on the potential value of Mindful Stories in engaging with fearful situations.Item Open Access Artist (Cover) Story: "Breathe"(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-08-17) Alper, MaraItem Open Access Artist (front cover) backstory(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-02-24) Slattery, PatrickItem Open Access Artist (front cover) backstory(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2019) Barnesmoore, LukeItem Open Access Artist (front cover) backstory(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2019-09-27) Morrison, HallieItem Open Access Book Review: An education in 'evil': Implications for curriculum, pedagogy, and beyond, by Cathryn van Kessel, 2019(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-08-17) Fisher, R. MichaelItem Open Access Book Review: Indigenous Perspective on Four Arrows' Book Point of Departure(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2019-09-27) RafiqItem Open Access Burring a velvet line(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-08-17) Burke, GeraldineItem Open Access Constant Cravings(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-02-24) Joss, Madelainne K.Item Open Access Coro-Fear: A Hail to the New Normal(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-08-17) Pokharel, BhawanaItem Open Access Corona Virus (Poem)(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-02-24) Adhikari, Bhawani ShankarItem Open Access Corona Virus Fear(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2020-08-17) Adhikari, Bhawani ShankarItem Open Access Courage/couragelessness: Rethinking the fear/fearlessness dialectic(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2019) Barnesmoore, Luke; Fisher, R. MichaelThe net of problems of injustice in the world, past, present and in the oncoming future-present are characteristically rooted in the many and varied contextual manifestations of the superiority-supremacism form. In search of the metaphysical pathology hidden by the banal invisibility of Western thought (worldview/ideologies) for Western subjects, the authors critically recognize, conceptualize and unveil the superiority-supremacism form, the conflation of dualistic and nondualistic phenomena, and the all too common synthesis of superiority-supremacism and the conflation of dualistic/nondualistic phenomena that form an essential aspect of the Colonial Modernist Worldview (C.M. Worldview ; see Barnesmoore 2018) as a critique of Western knowledge and conceptions of human history manufactured therein.Item Open Access Culture of fear and conservation of nature: Critiquing the construction of Sarppakavu in Kerala(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2021-04-08) Mohan, Monisha; Alex, Gigy J.This paper critiques the culture of fear accredited to sarppakavu in Kerala, through an investigation of William Logan's Malabar Manual. Kavu, the regional variant of sacred groves in Kerala, a state in Southern India, in the traditional sense is a consortium of trees devoted to various deities and sarppakavu is a variant that is dedicated exclusively to the worship of serpents. An ecozone guarded in the interest of a presiding deity, human intrusion into kavu is prohibited through a strategic amalgamation of myths and taboos. As a symbiotic space permeated by nature (forest) and culture (deity), it has undergone tremendous transformations. The paper argues that sarppakavu in Kerala is an epitome of human-nature-culture co-existence practised among non-indigenous communities, managed through the culture of fear-appeasement. It foregrounds that Logan analysed this culture of fear-appeasement from a religious perspective that delimited the sacred space of kavu and overlooked the role of ecofear in enhancing nature-human cohabitation through the construction and conservation of sarppakavu.Item Open Access Dread and its Defeat: The Sunlight Pilgrims as a Journey from Fear Towards Fearlessness(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2021) Pokhrel, BhawanaDread is a unique form of fear, which challenges the normal consciousness in human beings. The drastic change in climate depicted in The Sunlight Pilgrims (2016) by Jenni Fagan that takes place in the then future, is a glimpse of an ongoing eco-dread to the entire world at present. As the story progresses we see the characters dread but then overcome it by developing the coping strategies which are needed at present and in the future, on the part of each human being residing on earth. To substantiate my claims about the characters' fears and their departure towards fearlessness, I draw ideas from Desh Subba, R. Michael Fisher, Wayne A. Davis, Joseph LeDoux, Barbara Bickel and argue that even at the vortex of fear and amidst dread, humans revive their innate capacity to overcome fear and survive it.Item Open Access Ecoanxiety: A philosophical investigation from the early Buddhist perspective(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2021-04-08) Prakash, GyanEcoanxiety has been described as a fear caused by the climate crisis or environmental degradation. In religious and ethical studies, the emotion of fear is significant because it plays a role as a motivating factor or achieving necessary mental state to get to the ultimate goal in religious life. Fear is often caused by the consequences of an event. However, the dysteleological nature of early Buddhist thoughts does not contribute significantly to environmental problems but construe the fear. This paper is an attempt to explore the Buddhist ethical perspective of ecoanxiety, with special reference to the early Buddhist thinker Buddhaghosa. In this paper, I argue that Buddhist ethical teachings have an immediate beneficial effect on ecoanxiety.Item Open Access Ecofear as visible and invisible: Conceptual underpinnings of The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2021-04-08) Baindur, MeeraHuman response to ecophobia and ecofear have been mitigated through belief in science and technology that are supposed to establish knowledge and control over nature. This essay will look at the relationship between nature and fear through an ecocritical reading of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy (2014) titled Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance. The first novel Annihilation is written from a biologist's view of an ecozone known as Area X in which there is a continuous situation of unknowability and invisibility of the environment that is subjected to study and control in the plot. The second novel carries ecophobia into the very organisation 'Southern Reach' that is investigating Area X. Here the encounter between the protagonists and Area X is mediated by data and the politics of human beings working together, yet keeping secrets from each other. In the third novel, the climax reveals the intelligence that is Area X, yet at the same time masking its intention and the future of human beings and their interests. While analysing the different types of ecofear, I posit that it is possible for a certain kind of literature to evoke a horror of ourselves and transform ecophobia within our attitudes. This essay concludes with the significance of self-abnegation and a collapse of human arrogance at both the epistemic level and identity-separateness for being with nature. I posit that this kind of novel, a sort of ecologically inspired fiction, renders the human interest invisible, against bio-interest resulting in a foundational shift in our attitude to nature and ourselves.