Our Common Post-Covid-19 Pandemic Future: A Return to “Normal” or a Creation of the New “Normal”?

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to reflect on our common post-Covid-19 future. To do so, we first examine our present pandemic situation in terms of the pairs of the correlated concepts: peace and war, and the normal and the abnormal. We then proceed to analyze the dual aspect of the concept of normal: its descriptive as well as its normative side. In doing so, we con­sider the ethical views of Immanuel Kant, Nicolai Hartmann, Fritz Jahr, and Paul Ricoeur; their views help but do not lead to the solution we find satisfactory. Upon further examina­tion, we come to the realization that our problems with understanding our present and with anticipating our future seem to be ultimately related to our struggle to establish a ground on which both the descriptive and normative aspects of the concept of “normal” can be satisfac­torily founded. Our suggestion is that this problem may be solved by understanding what is normal in terms of health, understood as balance and as finding a proper measure in every­thing we do. Our common post-Covid-19 future should be centered on our renewed commit­ment to the promotion of physical and mental, as well as individual, social, and environmen­tal health. We thus set a stage for further development of an ethics of health.