Manu, Trevor, George

Skipping around the various threads of discussions (yes George, still an avid reader of the 'From the ground up'....) I'm prompted to comment on your interpretations of 'Angst'.
With all the connotations of "ängstlich" - being scared, being fearful and anxious, anticipating some unknown (negative) event, the "Angst", when 'tuned up' a pitch, would turn into 'horror'. Maybe that's when the agressivness comes in.
Although I haven't got a clue what this book "The Lonley Crowd" is about, the translation of "ängstlich" seems not logical. But when I think of '"angstvoll" (or 'bang' or 'beklommen') a feeling comes up about being unsure and left out in the cold - lonely.
What I sense form the initial subject mentioned of the "Angstlügen" in children, then that "Angst" means partly fear (of punishment) but it also tells a tale about a 'no-trust' in adults and carers to help guiding them between the rights and wrongs of their behaviour in to better choices and ways of conduct. Angst here is an uncertainty (anxiety) where defense mechanisms got to go up.
I can very well imagine, that if these mechanisms work, a child could adopt them as valid tricks/technics to get through life and would also become very proficient at it and soon the line between self protection and deception will be blurred.

Rita Schaad