Back to Search
Start Over
In defence of fear:COVID-19, crises and democracy
- Source :
- Degerman, D, Flinders, M & Johnson, M T 2020, ' In defence of fear : COVID-19, crises and democracy ', Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy . https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2020.1834744, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- The COVID-19 crisis has served, not just to instill fear in the populace, but to highlight the importance of fear as a motivating dynamic in politics. The gradual emergence of political philosophical approaches calling for concern for ‘positive’ emotions may have made sense under non-pandemic conditions. Now, however, describing fear in the face of a deadly pandemic as ‘irrational’ or born of ‘ignorance’ seems ‘irrational’ and ‘ignorant’. In this article, we draw upon the work of John Gray and behavioural science to present a defence of fear. We show how the pandemic has highlighted deficits in the work of four thinkers highly critical of fear: Martha Nussbaum, Zygmunt Bauman, Hannah Arendt and Sarah Ahmed. We argue that, if such approaches are to be of value in anything other than optimal conditions, then they have to acknowledge the fundamental role of fear in helping human beings to pursue fundamental interests.
- Subjects :
- medicine.medical_specialty
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak
Sociology and Political Science
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
L400
media_common.quotation_subject
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
0603 philosophy, ethics and religion
emotions
Politics
Political science
050602 political science & public administration
medicine
L200
media_common
Public health
05 social sciences
public health
Irrationality
Covid19
06 humanities and the arts
Democracy
0506 political science
Philosophy
Political economy
060302 philosophy
fear
politics
irrationality
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 13698230
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Degerman, D, Flinders, M & Johnson, M T 2020, ' In defence of fear : COVID-19, crises and democracy ', Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy . https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2020.1834744, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....55bb4a598859e59e5be0a95702ad98cd