Critchley's piece really made me contemplate the emotions I have been experiencing throughout this pandemic. Anxiety and fear is something that we all are dealing with currently, or at least most of us have experienced this during the last few months at one point or another. As Critchley says, we experience fear due to an object, but when we experience anxiety there is no definitive object that we are scared of. To me this can be hard to comprehend. I myself get anxiety of the thought of contracting the virus and then bringing it home to someone I care about. Covid-19 is not an object that we can see with our eyes, therefore the thought of Covid-19 gives me anxiety. Although, I do think sometimes they can be one in the same. I believe having a fear, for example vomiting, can also give one anxiety. When I see it in front of me it is an object, but when I myself am nauseous- that is objectless. That is just one of the examples that immediately popped in my head.
Critchley mentions how he believes that the role of philosophy can actually help us face our own morality. As described in the text, morality is probably one of the biggest obstacles that humans face. In order for us to truly live we have to accept the fact that morality exists, we can't fear it. I think when he describes philosophy, he's also comparing it to a way of life. I think this because when Critchley mentions facing reality, he also says that we are facing our weakness. Towards the end he mentions how "weakness is our strength". I didn't really understand exactly where he was going with this. I think maybe he is trying to say that we need to come to terms with things we can't control, like morality. Our fear of morality is certainly one of our weaknesses, so if we are able to apply the principles he spells out in the text, I believe that this actually can be our strength. This correlates perfectly with the pandemic we are all going through right now. Hundreds are dying everyday, and some days even thousands. Having a fear of morality is certainly expected. I agree that if we can use this weaknesses of fear that we all have, and if we are able to turn this into strength, then we would all be better off.
-Lauryn
