Many emotional states have polar opposites. Happy, unhappy. Excited, calm. Accepting, resisting.

But what’s the opposite of fear?

To my mind, these are the top contenders: Courage, Faith, Hope, and Logic.

Courage is the most obvious choice. The opposite of something should be capable of combatting it. If you feel courage in the face of fear, the fear lessens. One cannot have more of one without having less of the other (though both can escalate as danger escalates).

Faith is needed to overcome fear. If you don’t believe that the source of the fear will ever go away, you’ll always be living with that fear. In contrast, if you have faith that you’ll one day be able to defeat the fear, it makes it that much easier to live with it in the short- and long-term.

Hope isn’t quite as strong as faith, but can still be used to push back against fear. If you kindle small hopes against larger fears, you can diminish the fear.

Logic is a great weapon against fear. Fears are often (though not always) irrational; reasoning against it takes away some of its power. In addition, logic can be calming, and calmness, though not exactly a contender for fear’s opposite, can play a part in defeating it.

In truth, I’m not sure fear does have a polar opposite. Fear means different things to different people, and the source of the fear dictates the weapon we use against it. All of the emotional states listed here are effective against fear. One must only resolve to fight it, then choose the appropriate weapon. 

Put that way, maybe Resolution is the true opposite of fear.

I’m very curious- what’s your opinion? What’s the opposite of fear?