Reflexiones sobre el miedo en el siglo XXI: Filosofía, política, genética y evolución

Abstract

Recent events and those of past decades highlight the role of fear in public life. The fear and its causes are present in the mass media, political discourse, neuroscience, science and political philosophy. We take the view that intuitive, cognitive and heuristic fear management needs to be considered a basic feature of citizens’ lives in the current century. In both the modern vision of the nation and in the social contract, as well as in the most futuristic visions of cosmopolitanism and supranational states, the heuristic of fear will not disappear, not just because its intrinsic utility, but also its immanence at the genetic-biological and psycho-social level. We believe that the existence of fear is positive, as it alerts us to risks that may have a negative impact on the individual’s future.