THE INTERVIEW
1. Tell us as much as you can
about yourself.
I am Augustine
Kelechi Ikegwu, Igbo by birth. I hail from Upe village in Ngor Okpala Local
Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. I was born on the 16th day of
April 1993 as the sixth child of the family (nuclear). I am a Religious. After
my philosophical studies at the Claretian Institute of Philosophy Nekede in Imo
State, I obtained two degrees from her
affiliate institutes (B.A) Imo State University (IMSU) and (B.Phil) Pontifical Urban
University Rome.
Being a human
rights activist, I see myself as a liberator and that led to the authoring of
some articles, of which most of them are centered on contemporary issues concerning
the world. Also, I have written a book on human dignity which is yet to be
published, where I solicited for the recognition of man created in the image and likeness of God,
as a being with worth and value (Dignity) in the society.
I have been influenced
by writers like: Eric Williams, Soren
Kierkegaard, Chinua Achebe, Stephen King and Rene Descartes
2. How do you see the reality of fear?
Fear is so real
that it has made some persons to fail either in the society, field of study, or
activity or relationships. Here, man can come to limit himself due to the
initial apprehension of challenges and adopt the attitude: ‘I can’t do it’ instead
of seeing it as simply a challenge.
The reality of
fear in mankind is an instinct which is an essential reaction to a perceived
threat. In itself, fear is a good thing, valuable to man’s safety. It comes to
be related to problems only when it is based on false perceptions, or is
inordinate in relation to the reality of the threat accurately perceived.
The existence of
fear in man, can affect the personality for it refines the person one is and in
turn gives one the courage to move further to the next level in life, or, alternatively
may undermine the development of the personality.
Fear is so real
that it exists in man and can be noticed by him, which manifests in the form of
fast heartbeat, shivering of the body, ghost pimples on the body and weakness
of certain parts of the body. The reality
of fear in the human person can be seen as a defense mechanism, in the body
which appears at the apprehension of an unknown thing.
The reality of
fear in man can also be said to be rooted in his decisive nature, which permits
him to take any decision at any point in time. When there is fear in a person,
for instance, immediately, this reality pushes him to conclude either to run or
to stand and get the knowledge of that which lies before him. Some have
gone far in making this reality, a means
of acquiring new knowledge of things that posed fear in them, while some have
lost many opportunities in life due to fear.
4. Mention (if you know
any) at least three Fearologist or psychologist or sociologist you know who
said something on fear and succinctly state their central thesis.
Amongst those
who have said something on fear or phobia are;
i Paul
White in the book titled “ How to cure phobias and fears: dealing with
everything from Agoraphobia to social phobias.” This was focused mainly on
understanding of the basic difference between simple fear and panic. This teaching
of White was not only made for those suffering from fear and anxiety, but also
for every member of the human family.
ii Rhonda Britten in her work captioned
“ Fearless Living: live without excuses and love without regret”, used her
traumatic experiences to pose a better way of understanding the challenges of
mastering fear which has helped many in their own problems and experiences in
life. Her work is centered on emerging fearless by tackling the existence of
fear in us, in order to avoid excuses and regrets in life.
iii Abigail Marsh in her book “The Fear
Factor”, tried to lay bare two
fundamental extremes in the human person, which are selfishness and Altruism.
Marsh acclaimed that it lies in how the brain responds to the fear of others. The
brain can call for these actions which can explain the heroic and psychopathic
through its variations.
5. Do you think that fear is relevant to
the society? If yes how relevant is it? If no why?
Truly, the
existence of fear in the society is relevant, but it depends on how the
individuals perceive this reality which shapes the society at large. As I have
said earlier, the reality of fear is that, it can be perceived as a mechanism
of defeat in some individuals who see this reality as a limiter of man and
equally a means of piercing to higher achievement, for those who see the
reality as a challenge to overcome. This can also be seen in the question
itself which gave room for the dual nature of fear.
Several
societies today are sliding back, due to the act of not utilizing very well,
the very nature of fear which gives new knowledge of things as they lie hidden
in the society therefore, making the society under-developed compared to its
potential. Fear can be a destroyer of
the society of man rather, an indicator of a new achievement in life, which points at new
discoveries but depends on the courageous nature of the individuals of this
very society who apprehended the reality of this phenomena in the first place.
It is here that courage is applied for when we are faced with a reality which
gives room for the emergence of such phobia, it reminds us of our very nature
as man but the application of courage, changes our psyche towards the
achievement of a new development in the society. For instance, the astronomers
like Galileo Galilei, Vasco Da Gama who discovered the sea route to India, Mungo Park
who commenced the voyage on the River Niger and many other discoveries by many
people were as a result of the courage they applied to their expeditions.
The reality of
fear is relevant in the different aspects of our society, be it cultural,
socio-political or religious. There might be in existence the inappropriate
function of the sectors of the society due to those at the head, creating an atmosphere
of fear through threats and other possible means, the existence of fear in each
sector, serves as a motivator which pushes us to act in a redemptive way. And
this is when the members of the society due to several fierce things which have
come their way say ‘enough is enough’ which is still a product of the
courageous nature of man.
For a society to
be developed, there must be fear to call for order and development for where
fear is seen, there is possibility of development.
- How can you
explain fear from your own discipline?
Being a
philosopher, and having evaluated the reality and existence of fear in man and
the entire societies of man, I will say that fear works in line with the
consciousness of man. When there is fear, it awakens the consciousness of man
which calls for an action that may be moral or amoral. Fear therefore is an
instinct in man that awakens the consciousness in man, which leads him to the
route of serious thinking. The apprehension of fear, still connects with the power of the
will, which is the gear box of actions. When there is fear, man’s rationality
is put in play which results in the exercise of the free choice of the will that
is embedded to the human nature.
The existence of
fear in man also may lead to the acquisition of new knowledge of things which
must pass the philosophical investigative techniques which must commence with
wondering in total ignorance of the reality before him and that awakes his inquisitiveness
which then pushes him to act through inquiry or investigative means at last,
gives the result which will also illumine his knowledge of what is before him.
7. Don’t you
think that mass communication helps in increasing the fear climax of humanity?
Mass media,
which is very influential in our modern day lives, I will say, helps in
increasing the fear climax of humanity towards a solution on how to find a new
knowledge of things for it is a means of
communication that goes far in opening the possible solution of certain things
which are problematic to humanity by showing individuals who out of fear, have
developed courage that gave solution to
problems. The level of fear in humanity which comes from mass communication,
can awaken the consciousness in man. For instance, Mass media being a means of
dissemination of information to the masses, gives room for suspense in the
human person after which many discoveries and existences, are opened up for the
education of the people. A perfect Example can be seen on the part of Dr. Benjamin
Solomon Carson Sr., who out of fear of killing conjoined twins emerged as the
first to separate conjoined twins successfully and the best neurosurgeon to
carry out neurosurgical procedures on a fetus in the womb, and many other
achievements. This was successful due to the existence of fear at its climax
which called forth carefulness and devotedness which finally landed to new achievements
which through the aide of mass communication, has given a Nigerian like me knowledge
of whom Ben Carson is with his discoveries in the medical world.
In the
dissemination of information to the masses, I see it that social communication
is the best way of managing the fear state of recipients of information because
it goes further in preparing, evaluating, validating and editing
information given to the masses which also helps in influencing the ways
these information are understood, perceived and transmitted for the betterment
of the society at large. In this aspect of discussion on the two ways of
passing information, I see mass media as a way of passing information to the
masses which sometimes may not convey valid information. Rather, social
communication is part of mass communication, which focuses on passing edited
and verified information to the people with the notion of passing a new
knowledge to them. This can also come sometimes as a round table discussion on
issues like fear, where all give their ideas on the reality and impact of fear
on the society and the way forward. Therefore, social communication should be a
better way of managing the fear state of recipients of information. Vested
interests in the mass media would argue against social media which is tending
to undermine their historical dominance of opinion making.
8. How does fear affect the
society man finds himself?
Man was created
and was placed in the world and from there is extracted the society. There is
fear in the society because of the nature of man for fear is seen in living
things with instincts. Man has been seen as carrying out a voyage of
discoveries of the meaning behind his
existence, and the things around him. Also he has continued to search for the metaphysical
things which limit his reasoning, just to make his history complete and this
came the existence of fear in man and in the environment where he lives. The
world has remained unknown to man in some aspects, despite the millennia of the
existence of man which have welcomed several researches and discoveries yet,
there are still some parts that are hidden to him. At every point in time in
the voyage of man a thing which seems new or strange to him is discovered,
there must come to the scene, fear which has the answer to that new discovery
for when out of fear, courage and determination emerges, new development
emerges also.
9. According to R. Michael Fisher,
when one is afraid, the spirit of fearlessness emerges also. How true is this
statement?
Fisher’s line of
thought is indeed an affirmation of all I have stated. Fear is the giver of
courage and can never be negated, and that is the reason why when one’s state
of fear reaches the climax or the elastic limit, it takes another shape of
fearlessness. In this Fisher’s assertion, the nature of fearlessness lies in
the decisive power of the human person which is rooted in his will power and
then gives room for new development, which defines the personality of the
individual. One’s fearless nature depends on his management of his fearful
nature and the procedures he laid out for
the discovering of new knowledge of things which posed themselves as
hidden realities through the reality of fear which lives in him. In view of
that, in every individual, there exist the presence of both fear and
fearlessness but the latter occurs only when the former is well managed.
Therefore, man is a being of fear and fearlessness.
10. How best can humanity manage
fear?
The only thing I
can say here with regards to the management of fear by humanity, is that
insofar as fear is an emotion in the human person, it should not be allowed to
occupy the upper room (reasoning) of an individual which creates unnecessary
and excessive phobia in him. An emotion comes and bubbles in the human person
at a particular point in time and after which it disappears and also, man has
the capability of controlling his emotional responses to things which makes him
the master of his own being. Therefore the best management of the existence of
this emotion, lies in the ability of man
to recognize himself as a determiner of his own actions and emotions by first recognizing that
the reality of the existence of fear is to call to his consciousness that he is
a living and thinking being and can discover the many realities behind fear by
emerging courageous.
11. Do you think that philosophy of Fearism
or fearology is going to be relevant to the humanity?
Fearology being
a school of thought, that centers its interests, in the study of this human
emotion of fear, is very relevant to all humanity. Its relevant nature lies in
the very fact that it is a philosophical way of looking into the nature of fear
with the rational eyes, which sees not only the nature of fear per se but what
lies behind the reality of fear itself. This school of thought having fear as
its focus, is indeed relevant to all in the society for it goes further to lay
bare, the true knowledge of fear by carrying out several researches on this
reality and positing a possible way of
educating the general public on how to handle this in our everyday
lives.
Fearology should
be a welcome means of disseminating information about fear in the society,
which ought to be used in all level of education to create awareness about
fear. The existence of Fearology in the society should be seen as an answer to
the several recordings on the number of people affected by fear which have made
everything that is apprehended by them to transfer phobia which for them, is
very difficult to handle.
Augustine
Kelechi Ikegwu
Phone:
+2348135055980
E-mail: augustinekelechi1@yahoo.com
G-mail: ikegwuaugustine89@gmail.com
Website: austinworldviews.wordpress.com
