The Relevance of Philosophy in Times of the Coronavirus Crisis

Abstract

The current coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) has presented many scientific disciplines, including philosophy, with various theoretical and practical challenges. In this paper, we deal with three philosophical issues related to the pandemic and specific approaches to them. The first part of the article is dedicated to the analysis of the term “expert,” whose significance was highlighted at the outbreak of the pandemic. By examining Plato’s ancient and Goldman’s modern understanding of this concept, we will try to emphasize the importance of expert opinion in crisis circumstances. In the second part of the paper, we will deal with the issue of public mistrust of scientific authorities as well as the problem of the flourishing of so-called conspiracy theories. Goldenberg’s and Cassam’s approach to this topic will help us see where the source of these problems might lie and what potentially harmful consequences they can produce. In the third part of the text, we list some of the main moral dilemmas we have faced since the beginning of the pandemic. Special attention is paid to Kant’s moral philosophy in which we find advice on how an individual should act in times of crisis.

Aktuelna pandemija virusa korona (SARS-CoV-2) suočila je brojne naučne discipline, među njima i filozofiju, sa različitim teorijskim i praktičnim izazovima. U ovom radu razmotrićemo tri filozofska pitanja povezana sa pandemijom i tri odgovarajuća pristupa njihovom rešavanju. Prvi deo rada biće posvećen analizi pojma „ekspert“, čiji je značaj naglašen u vreme izbijanja pandemije. Ispitujuć i Platonovo antičko i Goldmanovo (Goldman) moderno shvatanje ovog pojma, pokušać emo da istaknemo značaj stručnog mišljenja u kriznim okolnostima. U drugom delu rada bavić emo se pitanjem nepoverenja javnosti u naučne autoritete, kao i problemom ekspanzije takozvanih „teorija zavere“. Goldenbergov (Goldenberg) i Kasamov (Cassam) pristup ovoj temi ć e nam pomoć i da uočimo izvor ovih problema i potencijalno štetne posledice do kojih mogu da dovedu. U treć em delu teksta navešć emo neke od glavnih moralnih dilema sa kojima smo bili suočeni od početka pandemije. Posebna pažnja bić e posveć ena Kantovoj moralnoj filozofiji, koja nam može pružiti savete kako pojedinac treba da se ponaša u svakodnevnim životnim situacijama tokom krize.