Man and his existential fears in pictures of the world

The paper attempts a philosophical and anthropological interpretation of fear. Fear is viewed from a historical perspective, i. e. in changing world pictures (mythological, religious, philosophical, scientific), existential fears are highlighted accordingly, which are represented as fear of time, fear of space, fear of the loss of Self, fear of the incomprehensibility of life. In each of the forms of existential fear, the emphasis is on its rational and irrational aspects. In the mythological tradition, this is primarily a fear of returning to Chaos or a fear of time. The philosophical picture of the world attempts to structure space, thereby establishing certain boundaries (ontological and axiological) that cause a person to fear space. In the religious picture of the world, there is a shift in emphasis on the person of Almighty God, there is a fear of losing one’s self. In the scientific picture of the world, there is a fear of the incomprehensibility of life. There is a fear of your thoughts, because you lose control over space, time and life.