Atmos-Fear and Semiotic Devices: How to Turn the Right to Healthcare into a War

Abstract

This chapter explore the history of civilizations, the social regulation of fear and hope has been a powerful tool of control: opposite emotions that share the common orientation towards the uncertainty of the future. For example, all religions elaborate on a vision of the afterlife. The uncertainty of future fate, the fear of punishment, or the hope of salvation regulate people's conduct in the present. The iconography of heavenly or hellish places is used as a semiotic device to admonish believers and guide behavior in different spheres of everyday life. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, politicians, doctors, and journalists talked about the war on the virus. This powerful metaphor is meant to mobilize the populations towards a common goal by appealing to the emotional dimension. The military metaphor evokes a field of meaning that activates a sense of fear, sacrifice, togetherness, and belonging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)