to discuss some of the ethical considerations of living through a global pandemic.
Q. You became well-known in academic circles for writing about philosophy in times of crisis. You wrote these books decades ago as hypothetical frameworks for approaching different types of human catastrophe. Did you ever think they would become practical handbooks for real events?
A. I hoped they wouldn’t. If I’d had to guess, I would have predicted my more recent work on climate change would have become critically relevant sooner.
Q. Can you describe your books for those who haven’t read them yet?
A. Ethics for End Times outlines the choices faced by governments in times of crisis. For instance, should the government uphold the principles of free speech, or censor scapegoating and false science that could lead to vigilantism and further disease transmission? Classical liberals like John Stuart Mill made powerful arguments against censorship—Mill even believed that false beliefs could help lead to the truth through open debate—but could he have imagined how quickly untruths proliferate in our modern world and how easily they are believed? Similarly, the government may need to inhibit the personal liberty of exposed or infected individuals in order to promote the health and happiness of the greatest number of citizens. But what about non-compliance? Is the government within its rights to shoot people who violate quarantine? In The Survivalist’s Code, I explore the dilemmas we may face as individuals. Do we need to obey the decrees of a government that has become unjust? If the government ceases to function, what are our responsibilities to one another? If an extinction-scale event occurs, are our previous social contracts dissolved or do we owe a duty of care to our neighbours? For this volume, I thought it was important to move beyond theory and engage with the practical problems arising from a global crisis. For the chapters on pandemics, I consulted with epidemiologists, disaster-preparedness experts, and infectious-disease specialists. For the chapters on environmental disaster and nuclear conflict, I offer a similar blend of historical theory and contemporary research.
Q. What do you think people might be surprised to learn from your work?
A. That most of our beliefs about disasters are myths. Study after study has shown that panic is actually uncommon. In almost all cases, people will act for the common good unless they have already been given reason to believe, either through prejudice or misinformation, that others will behave badly. The most dangerous type of panic, the one that can actually come to the fore in a crisis, is what sociologists of disaster have called “elite panic.” This is the fear of those in power that the change brought about by disaster will undermine their authority, for disaster often precipitates transformation and renewal. When elite panic rules, dangerous and unwarranted measures may be taken in the name of preventing chaos or mob rule.
KEELAN GIBBS IS THE DUNHAM PROFESSOR OF ETHICS AT LANSDOWNE UNIVERSITY. HIS BOOKS INCLUDE ETHICS FOR END TIMES AND THE SURVIVALIST’S CODE.
THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED AND CONDENSED FOR LENGTH.
ELLIOT
NOVEMBER 2020
It was ten minutes before the start of his shift and Elliot was hungry. Half of the businesses in Washington Heights had shut down in early October, but the restaurant closures were the biggest pain in the ass. Elliot had been forced to revive cooking skills he’d repressed since college: scrambled eggs, pasta, sloppy joes. There was a booming commerce in food delivery for intrepid couriers, but sitting and waiting at home reminded him too much of his quarantine. Now even the grocery aisle at the drugstore was picked over. He leaned down to inspect a lone instant ramen bowl on the bottom shelf while a woman in a purple raincoat edged over to move away from him. He noticed she had peanut butter and pickles in her basket, and his stomach spasmed.
The centre display of Halloween candy at the front of the store was the one thing left untouched. Usually there’d be slim pickings the day after Halloween, but this year the mayor had called off trick-or-treating—just in case there was anyone living under a rock somewhere who still wanted their kids to go door to door in the midst of a pandemic.
Elliot grabbed a fifty-piece variety box with Kit Kats and Milk Duds. Better to get fat than to starve.
Bryce loved Kit Kats. Elliot’s partner had come down with ARAMIS after they’d worked a quarantine relief shift at a big apartment building with sixty confirmed cases. Quarantine relief was a constantly evolving