ABSTRACT
Daniel is unsure. He suffers from what if. What if he has poisoned all the fish in the river? What if he accidentally plagiarised something a friend said? What if he is actually gay? What if he is actually a paedophile? He knows he isn’t, but the thoughts refuse to leave him alone. How did he end up here? Is it his brain that is the problem? Some unresolved conflict in his subconscious? Or viewed from a wider perspective, does Daniel's problem constitute something very new in the history of humanity? Would his worries even have been possible just a few centuries ago? This chapter introduces the book's main argument: Contrary to the long-held views of Buddhists, Stoics, existential philosophers, psychoanalysts, behaviourists, and others, anxiety is not an existential problem. Historically, concerns about our true identity and future uncertainties are relatively recent. This also applies to our fixation on potential future disasters. How much we, as a society, are afflicted by anxiety varies over time. This book is about how our current situation developed.
