The Nature of Fear debate: 2007 Australian Science FestivalThe Nature of Fear debate: 2007 Australian Science Festival
All In The Mind
From terrorist threats to bushfire anxiety, the rise of panic disorders to political game play - are we living in an era of fear? A world leader in psychopath research; a personality psychologist, top political scientists; and author of The Chemical Weapons Taboo join Natasha Mitchell to take on a hot topic of the times. The good, the bad and the ugly of that visceral human emotion - Fear.
30:03•1 Sept 2007
Fear, Power and the Human Mind: A Science Festival Debate
Episode Overview
- Fear is an essential human response that protects us, but it becomes harmful when prolonged and diffuse.
- The amygdala is central to emotional learning, and its dysfunction in psychopathy weakens responses to others' distress and fear.
- Politicians and states can intensify public fear to gain compliance and power, especially around terrorism and security.
- Taboos around weapons such as chemical agents are strongly tied to fear of indiscriminate harm to civilians.
- Irrational or imagined fears still have roots in personal experience and can be as impactful as rational fears in shaping behaviour.
“Fear can never make a society.”
What makes fear such a powerful force in everyday life and global politics? This lively panel debate from All In The Mind tackles that question head-on, mixing hard science with wry humour and some very personal admissions. Host Natasha Mitchell brings together an eclectic line-up: cognitive neuroscientist Dr James Blair, personality psychologist Doris McElwain, political scientists Professor Chris Rue-Smith and Richard Price. Together, they pull apart fear from four angles – the brain, the individual, society, and war.
From an evolutionary point of view, James explains fear as a system that “guides you away from threatening things” while still letting you approach what’s good. He shows how a key brain region, the amygdala, underpins emotional learning and how its dysfunction in psychopathic personalities blunts responses to others’ fear and sadness, raising the risk of antisocial behaviour.
Doris maps out the sheer range of what humans worry about, quoting Adi Lang’s line that “what we fear is death, our own minds and other people”. She argues that fear is useful when brief and focused, sharpening the senses and building resilience, but harmful when prolonged and diffuse, tipping into stress and anxiety. Chris takes fear into the political arena, arguing that “the manipulation of fear is a deeply political process”.
He describes how governments and media can amplify threats – from terrorism to refugees – turning fear into a tool for control, while warning that “fear can never make a society” that values courage and trust. Richard adds a global perspective, showing how fear shapes moral limits in warfare, from taboos around chemical weapons to modern worries about nuclear arms and climate change.
The panel finishes with candid confessions of their own fears, reminding you that even experts aren’t immune to dread. If fear shapes our minds, morals and politics this much, what might change if we understood it better?
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