Spingere e spaventare. L'ecologia della paura letta in chiave pragmatista

The article examines, from a pragmatist perspective, the theoretical assumptions and the techniques through which emotions can participate in, prompt, or inhibit social transformations by intervening in habitual behaviours. In particular, the authors develop a pragmatist critique of the so-called ecology of fear, a particular type of strategy of pro-environmental communication that aims at provoking negative emotional reactions, such as fear and anxiety, to stimulate action and interest in the climate crisis. The contribution highlights the contradictions and the shortcomings of the ecology of fear through a comparison with an approach that makes similar use of emotions, albeit in a different field: the pedagogy of discomfort. The conclusion suggests some methodological and theoretical additions that could refine emotional strategies to combat climate change and proposes further directions for future research.