MORES Glossary - Sadness

Sadness

/ˈsædnəs/

Sadness is a self-directed negative emotion linked to the experience or anticipation of loss. This loss may be temporary or permanent, real or imagined, and may be emotional, physical, or symbolic—the end of a relationship, the erosion of vitality, status, homeland, or shared ideals. Unlike fear, which arises from external threats, sadness emerges from an internal recognition of irreversibility and lack of control. It reflects the emotional cost of caring for something that can no longer be preserved.

As a basic emotion, sadness contributes to more complex states such as disappointment, loneliness, pessimism, resignation, or nostalgia. These derivatives often surface in political discourse—through expressions of cultural or generational decline (“Things were better in the past”) or feelings of detachment (“I felt isolated from my former political allies”). Sadness shapes collective emotional climates, especially when people perceive moral or political regression.

Sadness reminds us of existential limits. On a personal level, it arises in response to forces beyond our control: loss, mortality, or the limits of time, energy, and opportunity. In political life, it becomes salient when a movement collapses or an election is lost. In such cases, the emotion reflects more than disappointment; it marks the limits of a political community’s capacity to influence change.

This quality makes sadness central to the study of moral emotions. While not moralising in itself, as guilt or contempt are, sadness becomes morally meaningful when it reflects the loss of shared values, public goods, or social cohesion. When people express sadness over inequality or democratic erosion, the emotion does not directly moralise but suggests a belief that these values matter, have been damaged, and should be protected. In this sense, it invites reflection rather than retaliation. It also might be a quiet emotion, but one that marks what people morally care about—and mourn—when lost.

In the MORES project, which explores how moral emotions shape politics, societal action, and political behaviour, sadness matters. It appears in response to national tragedies, public health crises, or climate-related loss—moments when speakers invoke sadness to build identity or support. Referring to the “lost future” of younger generations due to climate inaction evokes sadness not just as an emotion but as a rallying point: mobilising those who grieve such losses to support environmental policies.

Sadness reveals political grief, alienation, and disillusionment, characteristics often overlooked in polarised environments. In its collective forms, it can foster empathy, solidarity, and mobilisation for repair. Sadness also encompasses nostalgia, which reactionary populist parties and traditionalist movements exploit to restore an idealised past.