Fear Research Network Seminar Series: Dr Raamy Majeed (The University of Manchester) – 'Fear, Humiliation and Political Grievances'
| Dates: | 9 December 2025 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 17:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
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This talk explores how humiliation and fear turn economic insecurity into political grievances. Fear from financial or social uncertainty creates vulnerability, but this doesn’t usually spark political action on its own. Humiliation—feeling disrespected, abandoned, or unfairly treated—turns that vulnerability into a sense of personal or group injury. Together, fear and humiliation reinforce each other: Fear sharpens the pain of humiliation, while humiliation gives fear a clear target. This combination transforms private anxiety into moral outrage, which in turn weakens trust in institutions and makes us more open to populist or anti-establishment messages. I end by considering some potential responses which directly target the emotional basis for political unrest.
Raamy Majeed is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Manchester, having previously taught at the University of Auckland. He works primarily on the philosophy of emotion and has published across the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of race. He is also an Associate Editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy. His is the author of two books, The Plasticty of the Emotions: Puzzles in the Science of Emotion and Philosophy of Race: An Introduction (both forthcoming with Routledge).
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