Emotions, Passion and Desire in Political practice

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze, from the perspective of the political theory, the role of emotions, passion, and desire in the political practice, in order to find some elements that allow the construction of citizenship competences, from the cultivation of emotions. To this end, the article is divided in three moments: the first one, identifying the political projection of the pathos in the liberal democracies, based on Nussbaum’s political statements; the second moment, releasing emotions, passion and desire by understanding human sexuality as a political act; and, the third moment, determining citizenship competences suggested by the pathos in the political exercise. Finally, it is concluded that passion is the involving whole of man as synthesis of his instinctive and rational dimensions. That is why it is necessary to cultivate emotions that claim the importance of Πάθος in politics.