Passion and tenderness as political forces

Abstract

To understand contemporary forms of social organization it is not enough to know the geopolitics that currently pertain; it is also necessary to enter the field of micropolitics and, particularly, the affections and sensibility modes that sustain the construction of social ties. In this field, psychoanalysis provides fundamental contributions to understand both the possibilities of adherence to forms of government and sociability, and as well as the construction of emancipation projects that aim to transform them. Different affections and sensibility modes will differently build social and political life. In distinguishing the language of passion from the language of tenderness, Ferenczi did not intend to have a political discussion, but we can use these notions to think about the current possibilities of political coexistence. Tenderness is the child's form of sensitivity, but also that of relationships of solidarity through dispossession. In this sense, the language of tenderness refers to the notion of vulnerability theorized by Judith Butler. It is not about defending a puerility or naivety, but a force of non-violence that, when affirmed, creates the possibility of a less unequal, fairer political coexistence, especially in countries immersed in a culture of hate such as Brazil.

Key words:

• passion
• tenderness
• affections
• social bond
• political coexistence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In memory of Marta de Araújo Pinheiro.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jô Gondar

Jô Gondar, PhD, is full member of Círculo Psicanalítico do Rio de Janeiro, full professor of Postgraduate Studies in Social Memory at the Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Member of the EC of the IFPS and of the board of International Sándor Ferenczi Network. Author (with Eliana Reis) of: Com Ferenczi: clínica, subjetivação, política [With Ferenczi: clinic, subjectivation, politics] (2017) and Com Ferenczi - o coletivo na clínica: racismo, fragmentação, transições [With Ferenczi - the social in the clinic: racism, fragmentation, transitions] (2022).