Sustainability. (Culture of) emotions as a strategy

The principle of responsibility arises from fear, and the reasons for responsible action is to be found in the name of panic. This is what Jonas defines as the “heuristic of fear” triggered by the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, what role do emotions play in the sustainability building process? And what emotions are associated to certain types of sustainability? What social function have they historically performed, in which parts of the world and with what effects? Is there room for emotions different form fear? And what are the consequences of a sustainable world built on fear? The paper is based on the cognitive hypothesis that emotions can play a fundamental role not only in the process of building sustainability but also in a generic social context. Emotions guide action, relationships, daily behaviors, and can steer them towards greater sustainability. Numerous studies highlight the centrality of emotions in communicative processes, from decisions in the food sector (such as excessive consumption of red meat) to awareness of environmental issues. From an epistemological and methodological perspective, the paper seeks to go beyond the ethical/value-based approach, on one hand, or the normative approach, on the other, to capture other aspects and processes generally overlooked by the relevant literature.