PSYC1101 GATECH Lesson 08 Discussion Life Without Fear And Anxiety
Humanities
Discussion Topic – Life Without Fear and Anxiety
SM has no fear, she lives entirely without this one emotion due to a rare medical condition. One might reason that her life should be perfect, but it is not. According to psychologist Paul Ekman, all humans are born with six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise.
You can read more about other and more global ideas of what the range of emotions are here:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201601/what-are-basic-emotions
After you have contemplated being hardwired with a set of six emotions, read the transcript to this podcast about SM–scroll down to the second mention of “This is INVISIBILIA” if you are short on time and go from there. Then, speculate and discuss why we need fear and anxiety, how it can cause us mental distress, but also how it shapes a healthy life. What do you think her existence is like without one of the basic emotions? How might it affect your parenting, driving, crossing the street and do forth? Finally, If you could chose to eliminate one of your emotions, which one would it be and why?
Once you’ve posted your initial response (of 150-250 words), review several of the resources provided by your classmates and reflect on at least two of their findings (replies should be at least 40 words each to be substantial).
