Angstwesen Mensch

Bärbel Frischmann
Angstwesen Mensch
Furcht, Ängste, Angst und was sie bedeuten
(Fearful human being. Fear, anxiety, fear and what it means)

J.B. Metzler / Springer Berlin, 2023
ISBN: 978-3-662-67875-6 (print) // ISBN: 978-3-662-67876-3 (e-book)
307 pages
49.99 EUR (softcover) // 39.99 EUR (e-book)

Fear accompanies us everywhere and at all times. It is part of the human condition. Humans are anxious beings, and this characterises their relationship to the world, to others and to themselves. In order to explain the significance of the different types of anxiety, a distinction is made between three basic functions: affective fear, emotional fear and mental fear. They each represent specific forms of coping with danger, which is essential for survival and which in humans not only includes the physical protective function, but is also characterised by the mental anticipation of possible risks and threats. However, feelings of fear in particular can get out of balance, be experienced as painful and even become pathological. This is why, at the end, the hope should also be formulated that people have the mental strength to categorise their fears in a meaningful way in their lives. For a differentiated view of the topic, this book draws on relevant theories from biology and psychology to sociology and Philosophy, and also analyses the results obtained with a view to social, political and ideological-ideological areas of application.