Between Affect and Argument: Margreth Lünenborg in Philosophie Magazin
In Philosophie Magazin, Margreth Lünenborg argues that affect is a necessary part of democratic discourse.
What happens at a public viewing when you look at it as a media scholar? Spontaneous embraces with strangers after a goal, a round of consolation beers from a guy at a next table — but also overturned tables and shouting. Is this simply the barbaric counterpart to rational discourse in coffee houses and salons — or something more?
News from Jun 15, 2026
Belonging, division, exclusion — none of these are purely rational processes, but affectively grounded forms of community. And this holds not only for stadiums and demonstrations, but for media publics too, which form "not primarily through facts and information, but always also through affective engagements."
Affective publics are not the loss of rational discourse — on the contrary: this perspective is precisely what enables a grounded critique of platform algorithms that deliberately exploit affect for economic gain.