Again, it is of the utmost importance in weak animals, such as hares or rabbits, to have the fear instinct easily aroused by the slightest, strange stimulus5: the animal is defenseless, and its refuge, its safety, is in running. The unfamiliar stimulus may be a signal of danger, and it is safer to get away from it; the animal cannot take chances.
On the other hand, animals that are too timid, so that even the familiar becomes too suspicious, cannot get their food, and cannot leave a progeny,—they become eliminated by the process of natural[46] selection. There is a certain amount of trust that nature demands even of its most defenseless and timid children.
Animals in whom the fear instinct can be aroused to a high degree become paralyzed and perish. Under such conditions the fear instinct not only ceases to be of protective value, but is the very one that brings about the destruction of the animal possessed7 by it. Intense fear paralyzes the animal.
“One of the most terrible effects of fear,” says Mosso, “is the paralysis8 which allows neither of escape nor defense6. Not all the phenomena9 of fear can be explained on the theory of natural selection. In their extreme degree they are morbid10 phenomena, indicating imperfection of the organism. One might almost say that nature had not been able to find a substance for brain and spinal11 cord which should be extremely sensitive, and yet should never, under the influence of exceptional or unusual stimuli12, exceed in its reactions those physiological13 limits which are best adapted to the preservation of the animal.” Mosso quotes Haller to the effect that “phenomena of fear common to animals are not aimed at the preservation of the timid, but at their destruction.”
The fear instinct is no doubt one of the most fundamental and one of the most vital of animal instincts, but when it rises to an extreme degree, or when associated with familiar instead of strange and unfamiliar objects, then we may agree with Haller[47] that the phenomena are not aimed at the preservation of the animal, but at its destruction; or, as Darwin puts it, are of “disservice to the animal.” This is just what is found in the case of psychopathic or neurotic14 affections. The fear instinct, when aroused and cultivated in early childhood, becomes associated in later life with particular events, objects, and special states.
When the instinct of fear is aroused in connection with some future impending15 misfortune, the feeling of apprehension16 with all its physiological changes, muscular, respiratory, cardiac, epigastric, and intestinal18, goes to form that complex feeling of anxiety so highly characteristic of the acute varieties of psychopathic maladies. When fear reaches its acme19, the heart is specially20 affected21; circulatory and respiratory changes become prominent, giving rise to that form of oppression which weighs like an incubus22 on the patient,—the feeling known as “precordial anxiety.”
The fear instinct is the ultimate cause of functional23 psychosis,—it is the soil on which grow luxuriantly the infinite varieties of psychopathic disturbances24. The body, sense, intellect, and will are all profoundly affected by the irresistible25 sweep of the fear instinct, as manifested in the overwhelming feeling of anxiety. The fear instinct and its offsprings—hesitation, anxiety, conflicts and repressions—weaken, dissociate, and paralyze the functions[48] of the body and mind, producing the various symptoms of psychopathic diseases. The fear instinct keeps on gnawing26 at the very vitals of the psychopathic patient.
Even at his best the psychopathic patient is not free from the workings of the fear instinct, from the feeling of anxiety which, as the patients themselves put it, “hangs like a cloud on the margin27 or fringe of consciousness.” From time to time he can hear the distant, threatening rumbling28 of the fear instinct. Even when the latter is apparently29 stilled, the pangs30 of anxiety torment31 the patient like a dull toothache.
Montaigne, writing of fear, says, “I am not so good a naturalist32 (as they call it) as to discern by what secret springs fear has its motion in us; but be this as it may, it is a strange passion, and such a one as the physicians say there is no other whatever that sooner dethrones our judgment33 from its proper seat; which is so true, that I myself have seen very many become frantic34 through fear; and even in those of the best settled temper, it is most certain that it begets35 a terrible confusion during the fit. Even among soldiers, a sort of men over whom, of all others, it ought to have the least power, how often has it converted flocks of sheep into armed squadrons, reeds and bullrushes into pikes and lances, and friends into enemies....
“The thing in the world I am most afraid of is fear. That passion alone, in the trouble of it, exceeding[49] all other accidents. Such as have been well banged in some skirmish, may yet, all wounded and bloody36 as they are, be brought on again the next day to the charge; but such as have once conceived a good sound fear of the enemy will never be made so much as to look the enemy in the face. Such as are in immediate37 fear of losing their estates, of banishment38 or of slavery, live in perpetual anguish39, and lose all appetite and repose40. And the many people who, impatient of perpetual alarms of fear, have hanged or drowned themselves, or dashed themselves to pieces, give us sufficiently41 to understand that fear is more importunate42 and insupportable than death itself.”
A well known writer, who is a psychopathic sufferer, writes: “Carlyle laid his finger upon the truth, when he said that the reason why the pictures of the past were always so golden in tone, so delicate in outline, was because the quality of fear was taken from them. It is the fear of what may be and what must be that overshadows present happiness; and if fear is taken from us, we are happy. The strange thing is that we can not learn not to be afraid, even though all the darkest and saddest of our experiences have left us unscathed; and if we could but find a reason for the mingling43 of fear with our lives, we should have gone towards the solving of the riddle44 of the world.”
Anxiety states of neuroses and psychoses are[50] essentially45 clue to the awakening46 of the fear instinct, normally present in every living being. The fear instinct is a fundamental one; it is only inhibited47 by the whole course of civilization and by the training and education of life. Like the jinn of the “Arabian Nights,” it slumbers48 in the breast of every normal individual, and comes fully49 to life in the various neuroses and psychoses.
Kraepelin and his school lay special stress on the fact that “Fear is by far the most important persistent50 emotion in morbid conditions.... Fear is manifested by anxious excitement and by anxious tension.” “Experience,” says Kraepelin, “shows an intimate relationship between insistent51 psychosis and the so-called ‘phobias,’ the anxiety states which in such patients become associated with definite impressions, actions, and views.” The states are associated with the thought of some unknown danger. Violent heart action, pallor, a feeling of anxiety, tremor52, cold sweat, meteorisms, diarrh?a, polyuria, weakness in the legs, fainting spells, attack the patient, who may lose control of his limbs and occasionally suffer complete collapse53.
“These states,” says Kraepelin, with his usual insight into abnormal mental life, “remind one of the feeling of anxiety which in the case of healthy people may, in view of a painful situation or of a serious danger, deprive one of the calmness of judgment and confidence in his movements.”
[51]
Thus, we find from different standpoints that the feeling of anxiety with its accompanying phenomena is one of the most potent54 manifestations55 of animal instincts, the fear instinct, which is at the basis of all psychopathic, neurotic maladies.
The fear instinct, as the subtle and basic instinct of life, is well described by Kipling:—
Very softly down the glade56 runs a waiting, watching shade,
And the whisper spreads and widens far and near;
And the sweat is on thy brow, for he passes even now—
He is Fear, O Little Hunter, he is Fear!
Ere the moon has climbed the mountain, ere the rocks are ribbed with light,
When the downward dipping trails are dank and drear,
Comes a breathing hard behind thee—snuffle—snuffle through the night—
It is Fear, O Little Hunter, it is Fear!
On thy knees and draw the bow; bid the shrilling57 arrow go:
In the empty, mocking thicket58 plunge59 the spear;
But thy hands are loosed and weak, and the blood has left thy cheek—
It is Fear, O Little Hunter, it is Fear!
When the heat-cloud sucks the tempest, when the slivered60 pine trees fall,
When the blinding, blaring rain-squalls lash61 and veer62;
Through the war gongs of the thunder rings a voice more loud than all—
It is Fear, O Little Hunter, it is Fear!
[52]
Now the spates63 are banked and deep; now the footless boulders64 leap—
Now the lightning shows each littlest leaf-rib clear;
But thy throat is shut and dried, and thy heart against thy side
Hammers: Fear, O Little Hunter,—This is Fear!
It is interesting to learn what a practical and thoughtful surgeon, such as George Crile, has to say on the matter of fear. Dr. Crile lays stress on the facts that in his researches he finds evidence that the phenomena of fear have a physical basis similar to those morphological changes in the brain cells observed in certain stages of surgical65 shock and in fatigue66.... That the brain is definitely damaged by fear may be proved by experiments.
“According to Sherrington the nervous system responds in action as a whole, and to but one stimulus at a time.... Under the influence of fear or (fear of) injury the integration67 of the common path is most nearly absolute.... Hence fear and injury (or fear of injury) drain the cup of energy to the dregs....
“We can understand why it is a patient consumed by fear suffers so many bodily impairments, (so many functional disturbances) and diseases even. We can understand the grave digestive and metabolic68 disturbances under strain of fear.... We can understand the variations in the gastric17 analyses in a timid patient alarmed over his condition and afraid of the hospital. The patient is integrated[53] by fear, and since fear takes precedence over all other impulses, no organ can function normally (under the influence of fear)” ... Dr. Crile arrives at the conclusion that “Fear dominates the various organs and parts of the body....”
Dr. Crile lays special stress on the pathological character of the fear instinct: “That the brain is definitely influenced, damaged even, by fear has been proved by the following experiments: Rabbits were frightened by a dog, but were neither injured nor chased. After various periods of time the animals were killed and their brain cells compared with the brain cells of normal animals, wide-spread changes were seen (in the brain cells of the animals affected by fear). The principal clinical phenomena expressed by the rabbits were rapid heart, accelerated respiration69, prostration70, tremors71, and a rise in temperature. The dog showed similar phenomena, excepting that, instead of such muscular relaxation72 as was shown by the rabbit, it exhibited aggressive muscular action.”
Animals in which the fear instinct can be aroused to a high degree become paralyzed and perish. The animal mechanism73 is by no means perfect. A stab in the heart, a rip in the abdomen74, a cut of the carotids, a prick75 in the medulla, a scratch of a needle infected with anthrax, or tetanus bacilli, a drop of hydrocyanic acid, an arrow tipped with curare,[54] extinguish every spark of life. Organic material may be delicate and complex, but for that reason it is highly imperfect and vulnerable.
Living matter is the feeblest material in nature, and is as fragile as a delicate crystal vase. Protoplasm, or living matter, may be wonderful material, but it can be crushed with a pebble76. The most beautiful colors may be displayed by a thin, delicate bubble, but it bursts at the least touch. Living matter is like a bubble, like foam77 on the ocean. Perhaps no better material is available for the functions of life.
Meanwhile it remains78 true that the flimsiness of living material makes it easily subject to decay and destruction. It is a profound error, having its root in prejudice, that nature always helps, and that the processes going on in the organism are always of benefit to the individual. Nature is as ready to destroy life as to protect it.
Preservation or destruction of a particular individual depends on the fact as to whether or no normal or pathological processes predominate in the total economy of the organism. This holds true of the fear instinct. The fear instinct is a delicate mechanism, and when its action is slightly intensified79, the animal is on the way to destruction. For the cosmic forces are careless of the creatures which keep on pouring forth80 in generous profusion81 from the lap of nature.
[55]
Living matter, or protoplasm can only exist under special, restricted conditions,—the least variation means death. The more complicated, and more organized protoplasm is, the more restricted are the conditions of its existence. A rise of a couple of degrees of temperature or a fall means disease and death. The same holds true of the rise and fall of quantity and quality of bodily secretion82 of glands83 and of other organs. Protoplasm can only exist in an optimum environment. Any change spells disease and death.
The fear instinct, being at the heart of highly organized life activities, is delicately responsive to any changes and variations from the optimum, requisite84 for the proper functioning of the organism. Any deviation85 from the optimum environment, external or internal, produces corresponding changes in the fear instinct with consequent pathological changes in the organism.
The fear instinct like a delicate indicator86 is the first to get deranged87, with harmful results to the organism as a whole. We can thus realize the importance of keeping the fear instinct in good condition. We can understand the significance of Plato’s doctrine88 of rational guidance of the fear instinct. “What to fear and what not to fear” is at the basis of all organized life, individual and social.[3]
FOOTNOTE:
[3] See my work “The Source and Aim of Human Progress.”
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1
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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spinal
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| adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的 | |
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stimuli
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| n.刺激（物） | |
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physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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neurotic
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| adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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gastric
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| adj.胃的 | |
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intestinal
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| adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌 | |
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19
acme
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| n.顶点，极点 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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incubus
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| n.负担；恶梦 | |
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functional
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| adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的 | |
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disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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28
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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29
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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30
pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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31
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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32
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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begets
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| v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起 | |
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36
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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37
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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38
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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39
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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40
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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41
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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42
importunate
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| adj.强求的；纠缠不休的 | |
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43
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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44
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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45
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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46
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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47
inhibited
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| a.拘谨的，拘束的 | |
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48
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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49
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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50
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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52
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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54
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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55
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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56
glade
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| n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地 | |
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57
shrilling
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的现在分词 )； 凄厉 | |
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58
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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59
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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60
slivered
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| 使成薄片（sliver的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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61
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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62
veer
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| vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向 | |
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63
spates
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| n.大量( spate的名词复数 )；（河流）暴涨；发洪水；（人）口若悬河 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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65
surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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67
integration
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| n.一体化，联合，结合 | |
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68
metabolic
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| adj.新陈代谢的 | |
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respiration
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| n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用 | |
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prostration
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| n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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71
tremors
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| 震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动 | |
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72
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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73
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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74
abdomen
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| n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分) | |
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75
prick
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| v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛 | |
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pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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77
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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81
profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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82
secretion
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| n.分泌 | |
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83
glands
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| n.腺( gland的名词复数 ) | |
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84
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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85
deviation
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| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
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86
indicator
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| n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器 | |
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87
deranged
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| adj.疯狂的 | |
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88
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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