Most people tend to be suspicious of the role of emotions in
the management of change, given those historical precedents
or experiences in political communities, such as in fascist
states. In these historical and experiential contexts, emotions
are seen as political vectors that encourage an unthinking and
uncritical political community. Martha Nussbaum, dubbed as
the philosopher of emotions or feelings, has suggested that good
political principles or policies are also realizable, …
Read moreMost people tend to be suspicious of the role of emotions in
the management of change, given those historical precedents
or experiences in political communities, such as in fascist
states. In these historical and experiential contexts, emotions
are seen as political vectors that encourage an unthinking and
uncritical political community. Martha Nussbaum, dubbed as
the philosopher of emotions or feelings, has suggested that good
political principles or policies are also realizable, if intently
worked out to persist and to remain stable or institutionalized, over
time. For example, a policy such as the redistribution of wealth
requires thinking on how a community could be driven to care for
people to whom they were ordinarily indifferent, by a thoughtful
and constructive analysis and subsequent re-programming of the
inherent emotions which forge citizens together.
In this study, the focus is the imperative cultivation of positive
emotions as a potential tool for human survival, as communities
battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. It is posited that material
conditions are waning, and humanity requires compassion; the
poor needs help for their survival. Researches, however, have
shown that extending alms is not easy. Not too different from
other animals, human beings are narrow and shallow in their area
of existential concern: caring for those nearer them, and largely
indifferent to those farther away. This assumption considered, the
policy challenge is to zero in on civic emotions that might cultivate
the element of compassion and concern to a larger community
radius. This paper also highlights preliminary proposals on how
to overcome negative emotions, i.e. fear, disgust, and shame,
which the study posits as hindrances antithetical to the formation
of constructive civic emotions needed for human survival.