Jonathan Haidt

Beginning in the 1980s, but it really accelerates in the 1990s.

Yeah, so fear is perhaps the original emotion in the animal kingdom.

You have to have an emergency response.

So that's fear.

Very, very, very well understood.

Very important for survival when there's a real threat.

But fear has multiple parts to it.

One of them is the alarm system, let's call it.

You're scanning the environment for what could be a threat.

And that is almost entirely learned.

Now, there are some...

There's some threats or some fears like snakes, but we haven't evolved preparedness.

We very, very easily learn to be afraid of snakes as other primates do.

But for the most part, it's learned.

So parts of your brain are always monitoring the environment for threats and opportunities.

And that's normal.

And if you're in an area where you've been attacked before, now you're on high alert.

And that might make sense if there really is danger there.

But what happens if your brain gets set so that almost anywhere new it's thinking, danger, danger, be on alert, be on alert.

That's gonna raise your cortisol levels.