Aporophobia

philosophical derivatives beyond the rejection of the poor

Abstract

This article aims to delve deeper into the phenomenon of aporophobia. First, I present the neuroethic foundations that support Adela Cortina's approach to this concept and that clarify the true meaning of aporophobia. Next, I outline a series of theses that derive from the phenomenon of aporophobia: 1) aporophobia obscures the inherent value of the person; 2) we are all aporophobic; 3) we can all be poor; and 4) aporophobia has a dialectical nature. These derivatives reveal the radical nature of this social pathology and its implications for human nature. On this basis, I then develop an interpretation of aporophobia from the perspective of status psychology that opens this phenomenon to the perspective of the poor. The poor, in situations of aporophobia, protect their status. Finally, I will explain how this protection of status by the poor can be explained from the perspective of Rousseau and is reflected in an evangelical passage and in the work by Pirandello.