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Shock and Fear in Safety

Shock and Fear in Safety There is a naïve belief in the safety industry that shocking people and the dynamics of fear are effective. We see this in the many ‘horror’ photos and clips in the sector as well as the countless injured people who are trotted out with the message ‘don’t be like me’. …

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The Psychic Effect of Safety

The Psychic Effect of Safety and What to Do About It One of the flow on effects of the politics of Safety is unconscious fear. I met a host of officials in safety associations recently and was overcome with the anxiety of some as we shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. I was due to stand …

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Fear of Being-in-the-World

Fear of Being-in-the-World One of the valuable contributions of the philosophy of phenomenology is the concept of Dasein. Dasein is German for ‘being-in-the-world’ articulated by Martin Heidegger . Heidegger is a controversial philosopher because of his complicity with the Nazi party during WW2. However, the philosophy of phenomenology offers insight into many of the problems …

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Short-sighted Safety

Short-sighted Safety There is nothing more debilitating to human ‘being’ than hyper-fear, hyper-risk aversion and hyper-safety. Hyper-fear and hyper-risk aversion is the outcome of blind safety and ignorance. I was contacted by a person who is a parent at a school that had just banned children in the school from doing handstands and cartwheels on …

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The Fear of Power and the Power of Fear

The Fear of Power and the Power of Fear One of the clear messages in the Netflix series House of Cards is the Fear of Power and the Power of Fear. The House of Cards series exemplifies what happens when one makes power the frame for exchange. The idea that coercion, compliance, power and fear …

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