Why are we so afraid of fear? By exploring the prominent works of Renaissance philosophers Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes I explore how fear impacts the rulers and the ruled in The Prince and Leviathan respectively. Each philosopher utilizes fear in their thought process to provide the bedrock of thought for a majority of contemporary institutions, alongside providing a possible explanation for why we have organized society rather than anarchy. In understanding this we can then learn how to reduce our own fear of modern institutions designed to promote it.
