STOCKTAKING IN THE TIME OF A PANDEMIC

Atypical Philosophical, Theological, and Other Observations

Authors

  • Jibu Mathew George School of Literary Studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad

Keywords:

Ecological Ethic, End to Impunity, Event Ontology, Farcical Functioning, Heremenutic Horizon, Interpretation, Randomness, Extreme Experience

Abstract

This article first discusses a possible meta-framework within which ethical, philosophical, theological, socio-cultural, and other perspectives on COVID-19 can be formulated and evaluated, making a heuristic distinction between the event (here, the pandemic) as a non-negotiable ‘core’ and the event as a ‘text’ open to interpretation, each with its own ethical implications. One’s response to the event is a function of the interpretive framework adopted. The article goes on to argue that human subjects interpret events against a long-temporal hermeneutic horizon. After distinguishing between a religious and a secular understanding of the phenomenon (from an ethical perspective, a 'perplexing randomness' seems to set apart what is unfolding now from occurrences in the Biblical world), it makes a case for an ecological ethic in the context of religious naturalism. The current situation appears to mark an interregnum – or, hopefully, a new beginning – in a naturalistic Lebenswelt marked by impunity and farcical functioning. The article concludes with an exploration of ethical choice amid extreme experience.

Author Biography

Jibu Mathew George, School of Literary Studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad

Dr Jibu Mathew George is an internationally published author with multidisciplinary research interests. He teaches in the School of Literary Studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.

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Published

2020-06-11

How to Cite

George, J. M. (2020). STOCKTAKING IN THE TIME OF A PANDEMIC: Atypical Philosophical, Theological, and Other Observations. Journal of Dharma, 45(2), 259–278. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/jd/article/view/2850