Attitudes to the Global Pandemic from the Standpoint of Moral Philosophy

There can be little doubt that scholars of the social sciences and humanities, as well as economists, will continue to debate for a long-time severe consequences and adverse effects of the Coronavirus epidemic on individuals as well as societies. This invisible and apparently invincible particle has mobilized the energies and expertise of natural scientists and health experts, while rendering world leaders helpless and desperate in the face of its devastating impact on social and economic life. The sudden appearance and rapid spread of this fatal virus has forced all nations to re-arrange and readjust their social and economic policies to conform with the dictates of a new normal. As individuals and societies struggle to conduct their daily affairs in the newly imposed conditions of the Coronavirus pandemic, they face tremendous challenges and difficulties in coping, on the one hand, with necessary and often severe restrictions and, on the other, with the fear and anxiety of uncertainty. Depending on their perception and understanding of this devastating new normal, people, organizations and societies display various attitudes and behaviors in this new situation. Some of them remain confident, strong and forward-looking, since they view this crisis as a test or a trial, which, they believe, can be overcome with perseverance. Others, however, see themselves as helpless victims, and the pandemic as a calamity, a punishment or even as “End Times”, the advent of which, they fear, is unstoppable and uncontrollable. These different perceptions, behaviors and attitudes as exhibited by people in the course of the pandemic, as well as the possible consequences of these perceptions, behaviors and attitudes, will be evaluated in this paper from the standpoint of moral philosophy.