It is not enough to “believe” in science: the pandemic has exposed human weakness
The Covid-19 pandemic that has involved – despite many provincial comments in Italy – the whole world, is throwing us back into a situation of serious crisis after the brief illusion that it was in the process of exhaustion. When I write "the whole world" I mean everyone, including the nations that had triumphantly proclaimed the end of this new plague.
For example, the Chinese government tried, suggesting that, thanks to the continuous and massive lockdowns and the efficiency of the Communist Party, the virus on its territory had been definitively eradicated. It was not true, and the famous photos of the Great Wall again crowded with tourists turned out to be a classic case of fake news , spread to reassure the population.
But, without going that far, it is enough to put your nose just beyond our borders to understand that the Italian government is not as inefficient as so many proclaim. Go to Austria for example (provided that the border guards let you through), or to Germany or any other country in the European Union. Everywhere you will find the same desolation, the same bitter surprise for the variants that continue to follow one another endlessly, the same uncertainty about vaccines which, however, have made it possible at least to limit the most serious consequences.
We have often heard, in recent times, a message spread over and over and over and over again that goes more or less like this: "We must believe in science". However, the question must be asked whether, given the context, this message is right, or if it is only so in a limited way. Where is the problem? It simply resides in a fact. "Believe" is a verb that is fine in a religious context, but not in a scientific context.
Science and religion are two different fields. In the second we believe when we are lucky enough to have faith, perhaps even supported by reasoning. In the first, more than "believing", the experimental results achieved by scientists and researchers are verified and then it is decided whether to accept them or not, again on the basis of the success achieved.
We understand, therefore, how misleading the invitation to believe in science can be. Especially in a period like this, with the emergence of a pandemic whose implications and outcomes are not yet well known.
Are there, however, plausible alternatives to a science that manifests, like all human activities, limits due to our cognitive deficiencies? And does it make sense to appeal, as many no-vaxes do , to the hoaxes spread in industrial quantities on internet sites?
In reality, this pestilence of our century has mercilessly exposed the extreme weakness of human beings, especially those living in the present age. It made us better understand the great existential void into which we have fallen, as well as the disappearance of strong and founding values capable of giving meaning to life.
In short, the need for a return to the faith which has, in the meantime, almost evaporated, is manifested from many quarters. And likewise the need emerges to return to conceiving death as a natural phenomenon, and not as an "accident" that derails an existence that one would like – or imagine – destined to last forever.
Once the philosopher has understood the exploitation of the no-vax phenomenon by some political forces and its worst aspects, because they are linked to mere electoral calculations, he must try to thematize the loss of the deepest meaning of life, which has deeply affected the contemporary humanity.
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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Atlantico Quotidiano at the URL https://www.atlanticoquotidiano.it/quotidiano/non-basta-credere-nella-scienza-la-pandemia-ha-messo-a-nudo-la-debolezza-umana/ on Thu, 13 Jan 2022 03:45:00 +0000.