Being a featured background actor on Gotham (Fox), I spend a lot of time thinking about the fictional Gotham City of DC Comics. Years ago, I pitched a female version of the supervillain Scarecrow (named Hayley Fever) to DC editors. They didn’t respond.
Notwithstanding my yet-to-be-published comic book debut, the Scarecrow is one of the most interesting graphic novel characters. Unlike other Gothamites who are based on humor, wealth, brute strength, immortality and fire, the slender man in the potato sack mask delves into an aspect of life that is inevitable: fear. It leads one to question, what is the philosophy of fear?
In order to understand fear, one must understand the history of fear. Let’s start at the beginning, at the inception of cellular life 4.5 billion years ago. The Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA), could not have had any predators, since there was nothing preexisting on the planet. Once evolution started, a simple food chain evolved. However, cellular life forms do not possess consciousness, so even if they had evasive tactics, it was likely an automatic reflex and did not evoke any emotions.
As fauna became more complex, particularly with backboned organisms known as chordates, basic brain structures evolved. Early fish struggled at the tendrils of brainless jellyfish and were the first to experience fear. This type of fear was very basic. Once ensnared by gelatinous barbs, it was nearly impossible to escape. The fish had no offensive or defensive tactics. The fear didn’t help much, except in the very rare instances where the entrapped fish struggled and broke free.
Source: Midjourney.
Once fish became more complex, a more elaborate and high-speed food chain emerged. Dunkleosteus, a massive scissor-jawed prehistoric fish, chased down prey items. The prey experienced a new type of terror; the kind that one gets from an adrenaline rush. Whereas jellyfish were incapable of engaging in pursuits (and once prey was caught, it was over), terrifying animals like the Dunkleosteus meant that there was a chance of getting away. Therefore, biochemistry allowed for a rush that offered the hope of survival. This type of predation continued for the next few geological eras, the only difference being that it escalated to land and air.
It wasn’t until humankind set foot on the savannahs that a new system of fear emerged. Humans possessed technology to deter animals who had more muscle mass. We were self-conscious of death, and therefore, self-conscious of fear. We could ask ourselves – why are we afraid of a predator? If we are afraid of it, what can be done about it? No longer did smaller prey items simply run on an adrenaline-based instinct. We could defy the instinct to run from a sabretooth and instead set a trap.
Read the full article which is published on Daily Philosophy (external link)
