Differance between Fear and Respect?

Just a simple question to get some juices flowing, and to see what you all think.

What is the diffenence between fear and respect?

I think that fear is a blind form of the same active emotion/attitude.

With respect you must know, or be witness to someting to respect it, but many of us fear the unknown all the time.

However the odd part is that there is much respect in fear, but not nessicarily the other way round.

Just my thoughts what are yours?

well I"m not sure just how to phrase this right, I'll give you the basics and come back when I have fully compose my thoaghts but to mefear comes from the less evolved and more primitive side of the brain, the latter half of the fight or flight instinct that is at the oldest parts of our brains which we share with every other sentient thing on this planet, while respect comes from the Higher parts of the brain, respect is something that is given (earned). It takes a certain amount of conciousness to give respect while Fear comes from a deep insticntual pit deep inside of ourselves.

so then respect only serves the person who is giving it. To avoid fear in the hopes that the greater (respected) choses to aknowledge the respect as love and potential usefulness.

More of a question than i hoped, but yeah, evolution has brung greater understanding of how to avoid danger.

Fear-
could be different kinds. Fear of the unknown, of being alone, of change, of harm (death, etc.). The physical and the philosophical fear are different.

Respect-
which kind?
The kind of respect that is 'earned' through act or deed?
The kind (akin to fear) from being powerful or projecting power. This includes power of intellect as well as physical.

Let's take a dog- can a dog respect its owner/master? Maybe- certainly a dog can learn or gain trust. So to have respect there must be trust. Is this true? I think so. No one respects someone for anything with trusting whatever the respect is based upon. You could trust that Bill was tough because a.) you saw XYZ, b.) 'the word is'

Fear on the other hand can come from multiple sources- fire, winds, rumors and imaginations.

Can you respect someone you dislike? Certainly.

Either one can motivate or be the result of other acts. One could fear the dark even though no harm had ever happened to their knowledge because of it. One could fail to act because they fear success or failure.

One could have either one without the other yet could also have both simultaneously towards the same person. Mike Tyson, the boxer, certainly exudes a fearful stance and as much as someone may dislike him his accomplishments earned him respect from others.

Osama Bin Laden- fear certainly, yet in the non-terrorist world would he have any respect?

wicked explanation.

I'm wondering where you pulled the referances from, kinda close to home.

Originally posted by VaporTrail
wicked explanation.

I'm wondering where you pulled the referances from, kinda close to home.

I took it 'easy.'

I have always been intrigued with the term respect. References- from life.

The term (not a mere word) is used in so many ways. A person can be respected for something and yet be hated and vilified as well. I respected my father, feared him and sometimes even hated him. Later, the respect vanished in a moment- I no longer hated him nor feared him. I felt sorrow for myself and him.

Myself, because one of my ghauds died. Him, because he was lain bare and his accomplishments that had appeared so very wonderful were aired for the world to see as his machinations were exposed. This is a betrayal of ideals. Many times during a divorce situation 'betrayal' as the more cutting knife wounds deeper than the bludgeon of change.

This is one reason traitors receive such harsh treatment during their lives and in history. An enemy is one thing, a betrayer is something entirely different.

Let us introduce fear into this and make it a mix. Fear of discovery many times prevents actions. This can be measured and to a great extent ameliorated. Fear of betrayal always causes needless actions. This is impossible to measure, the actions taken to minimize it are suspect in and of themselves.

Fear can paralyze.

My favorite story in history on a large scale dealing with fear (and respect as I will show) was the Mongol invasion(s) of Eastern Europe. The Mongols sent messengers ahead to measure the effects of their propaganda. Propaganda is the parent of much fear and often times respect. Propaganda may be based upon truth or entirely false, it doesn't matter. What matters is the effect.

The Mongols massacred village after village, being careful to leave survivors enough room to escape. Many times mass executions were carried out and a few prisoners 'allowed' to escape.

The Mongols also had one physical weapon in more supply than the Europeans and it happened to be technologically advanced enough that even though the Europeans were aware of it they failed to grasp its attributes, that was the compound bow. With this weapon Mongol groups (hordes) could fire from a distance harassing and killing with a great degree of impunity.

With these two weapons most Europeans exaggerated the Mongol abilities and therefore ascribed a 'respect' to Mongol military prowess that was by and large based on deception through propaganda. Entire regions would flee based upon nothing more than rumor that the Mongols were approaching.

I digress-

Anyway, this same type of respect is one often overlooked or called other things, yet it is just as much a part of the term RESPECT as any other. One can have respectful avoidance (mad Mike Tyson for example) not really based on fear but perhaps in the avoidance of f-e-a-r Avoiding a dark alley, or chancing fear such as walking alone through say- Central Park (NYC) at night.

I remember as a kid 'the graveyard.' I am serious when I say your pants would be wet even trying to run through it. (propaganda) We had respect for the place based upon rumor and our own fears. There was this one kid (isn't there always) that would run through it and brag. He had respect!

Being a jealous little twerp I connived to 'test' him. I strung a few thin ropes across the known paths and tied a couple tin cans on each the afternoon of the next 'dare.' That night, when he came out of the graveyard he was sniffing and his pants were wet. I was rolling I was laughing so hard. The beating was worth it. He never forgave me.

The difference between fear and respect..........

I would want to conquer my fear.....

I would want to emulate that which I respected.....

The two can be held for the same individual/concept/thing, but one does not preclude the other.....

Originally posted by MemoryShock
The two can be held for the same individual/concept/thing, but one does not preclude the other.....

I certainly agree with this.