Would you take it?

Fear dissolves in the presence of greater understanding. (Fear is unreasonable)

But yeah, I'd take it, because the only obstacle to being the best person you can be is fear.

No. I like to be able to be brave.

Nope.. Fear is a part of life, it is a protection mechanism, and as vodsel brought up, overcoming it is also a possibility for personal growth.

But if you gave me one with a shorter half-life and it had no side effects, sure I´d try it to see what it feels like for a short while

My professor told us about people who have a part of the brain damaged that essentially made it so they never experience fear...I guess they can be pretty bizarre. The extreme case was this one guy who was never satisfied with anything, like an adrenaline junkie to the max. He said the guy would have himself hung from helicoptors in Africa and hunt animals that way.

But one that just removed most of the fear we all experience underlying out daily lives... maybe i'd try it if it wore off after a few hours.

Do you have some?

Yes, i would take it. The reason is, i do know what fear is and i do know how to use my cognitive function to determine risk. Taking the pill would cetainly come with a lot of problems, no doubt.

But living in fear just to be able to be brave? Well, perhaps i'm not manly enough to understand that.

Fear ...what fear?

This mythical foe builds character either way.

is fear real or just a figment of our imagination born out of assumptions about life?

I don't think I would take it. This year I am trying to overcome fear. Maybe its not possible but either way I will learn something. Taking the easy way out for me doesn't seem like the way to go. That's just me though.

After thinking on it, yes I would take it, as long as it didn't have some bad side effect.
I'd be unstoppable.

Not a chance.

Fear can be a good thing in certain circumstances. It can drive you to accomplish or avoid things that wouldn't ordinarily get accomplished/avoided.

Example: I quit smoking cigarettes out of the fear of damaging my lungs more than I already am, and the risk of cancer. If I wasn't afraid of the long term consequences of smoking cigarettes, there is a reasonable chance I would still smoke them.

Another example: I wear a condom EVERY time out of fear of getting an STD and/or unwanted pregnancy. If I was not afraid of having a child at the age of 20 or the idea of HIV, there is a chance I wouldn't wear a condom.

Another example: I don't bring illegal substances to my dorm (I leave them at a friend's place). Even though they don't go through our rooms or bring dogs or anything. If I wasn't afraid of getting busted and kicked out of the dorms/school, luck might have it that one day dogs do come and raid my room.

Like end said, fear is a defense mechanism that helps keep our behavior in line with our intentions and goals.

Fear is also a profoundly compelling emotion that you can use to learn a lot about yourself and your truest intentions.

Conversely, irrational fears, as we have all undoubtedly experienced, can also inhibit personal growth and fulfilling experiences. Like when you never had the balls to ask out that one crush of yours. Who knows what experiences and life lessons you missed out on because of something as trivial as getting rejected?

You've just got to confront the fear, get down to its roots, and feed it through your system of logic. This can be hard to do because thought has a tendency to be so heavily swayed by the emotions you are feeling at the time (sometimes seemingly inseperable from the thoughts themselves) and consequently inhibit your ability to look at it rationally, but with practice, is something that can be improved upon, in my experiences.

I can imagine situations where I might take it if the effects wore off after about 6 hours or something.

I'm not sure if having no fear would be a good thing, just in case one's previously acquired common sense should fail, as it often does. It would be like having no fight or flight response.

Can we even truly imagine what it would be like to not have any fears? This reminded me of the movie 28 days later. There was a part where one chick gave the kid a bunch of pills so she wouldn't mind when the guys came in to rape her. Valium or something.

It would be interesting to know what it feels like to make all choices based on logic rather than action and reaction from fears. There are times when this is useful but it could also possibly be dangerous I think.

How many things are dictated by fear rather than rationality? There have been strange moments in my life where I have experienced a sort of fearless perception. Can't think of anything specific but you notice it right away cause you know its something you should have been afraid of and you aren't.

I am not quite sure I agree completely that removing fear would cause you to make ignorant mistakes.

No fear makes you disappear from gene-pool.

Interesting question. I think I would. I've had enough fear for one lifetime already.

Well. Yes I would take it, because fear gets in the way of all my heart's desires.
But I'd rather not take fear out of the equation 100%. It would be nice if I could
dampen down the fear to a degree I can handle.

No, I would not take it. Fear can be horrible, but it can also be fun. The distortion of perception that can happen when you are scared can get pretty interesting, especially on psychedelics.

Now, if I had drug that temporarily reduced or eliminated fear, I might find that useful, but I wouldn't want to always have to wait for a tablet to kick in- an injectable option might be more practical for some situations.

No! Fear is one of the reasons I take psychoactive drugs! Just for that moment of mind-wrenching mortal terror when you realise that your entire reality only exists in your mind...so fragile & beautiful. Even though the trade-off is sometimes crippling anxiety, I wouldn't give up those moments for anything.

Nope, this game is perfectly designed the way it is.