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THEORETICAL PAPER / ARTÍCULO TEÓRICO

COVID-19 and the metaphor of war (COVID-19 y la metáfora de la guerra)

ORCID Icon, & ORCID Icon
Pages 618-624 | Received 05 Apr 2020, Accepted 07 Apr 2020, Published online: 10 Jul 2020
 

ABSTRACT

Metaphors provide easy-to-understand explanations for threatening and unexpected events and can guide behaviour. Some groups have used the metaphor of war in the current pandemic. However, this metaphor is inadvisable because it omits fundamental factors such as mutual care or empathy and causes breakdowns in both social behaviour and the democratic system.

RESUMEN

Las metáforas ofrecen una explicación comprensible a fenómenos inesperados y amenazantes, a la vez que orientan el comportamiento. En la actual pandemia algunos grupos han activado la metáfora de la guerra. Esta metáfora resulta desaconsejable. Deja de lado aspectos fundamentales como el cuidado mutuo o la empatía y provoca disfunciones en el comportamiento social y en el funcionamiento del sistema democrático.

Acknowledgements / Agradecimientos

This work was supported by the Xunta de Galicia [GPC GI1456]. / Este trabajo ha recibido el apoyo de la Xunta de Galicia [GPC GI1456].

Disclosure statement / Conflicto de intereses

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. / Los autores no han referido ningún potencial conflicto de interés en relación con este artículo.

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