Posted by Keith on October 02, 1998 at 22:57:45:
In Reply to: fear posted by Novae on October 01, 1998 at 23:32:17:
I think that your statement of kids being afraid of spiders and snakes is wrong. Kids are very curious, and at first they are not afraid of anything. Their experiences with that creature make them afraid. Read Aquinas' Thoughts on Knowledge. In it, it says that knowledge, to Aquinas, is the understanding of what a human sees, and perceives. I would like to point out that I am going on the theory that a kid has seen a spider and perceived that it is bad. However, there are kids that like spiders because they perceived them as good. It is all in the perception. (ok, now that I have used perception way too much, I can continue. :))
It is also human nature to be afraid of the dark, or the unknown, if you will. The unknown frightens every human, therefore kids are afraid of the dark because it is the "unknown territory."
In direct answer to your question. People are afraid of what they don't know or what they haven't experienced. Also, we are afraid of what we have perceived as bad.
Do I need to clarify more?