Sympathetic solidarity: rethinking solidarity as a political emotion with Adam Smith

In this paper I refer to Adam Smith’s theory of sympathy as stated in his “Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759) in order to develop a three-dimensional account of solidarity as a political emotion. This account allows for a reconsideration of key features of solidarity, as discussed in the (German) sc...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Ronge, Bastian
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2016
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE)
Repository:Perspectiva Filosófica (Online)
Language:Portuguese
OAI Identifier:oai:oai.periodicos.ufpe.br:article/230263
Online Access:https://periodicos.ufpe.br/revistas/perspectivafilosofica/article/view/230263
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Adam Smith
solidarity
sympathy
political emotions
theory of moral sentiments
solidariedade
simpatia
emoções políticas
teoria dos sentimentos morais
Description
Summary:In this paper I refer to Adam Smith’s theory of sympathy as stated in his “Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759) in order to develop a three-dimensional account of solidarity as a political emotion. This account allows for a reconsideration of key features of solidarity, as discussed in the (German) scholarship on solidarity, within a theoretical framework that takes the emotional foundations of solidarity seriously. Moreover, it makes us aware also of two particular problems of solidarity as a political emotion: The problem of colonizing emotions, which is often implied in the struggle for solidarity, and the problem of exploiting the emotion of solidarity for particular political reasons.