ABSTRACT
Once upon a time there was fear. Fear that made our hands tremble at the idea of making an important decision, that gripped the stomach when setting off on a dangerous journey or at the prospect of taking up a new job. The world itself was steeped in fear, in the ordinary aspects of everyday life and also in the social consciousness. Fear loomed at every waking hour of existence; it characterised and drove it, like a sharp and insuppressible stimulator, leading to the queen of all fears: the fear of death. This sentiment ruled and guided human activity for centuries, set the coordinates and determined choices, establishing the formula of civil societies as reducers of fear.
