Uncertainties about ease of transmission,Īsymptomatic cases, and misdiagnoses do not undermine knowledge of theįundamental chain of causation, which is simple, linear, and unmistakable: the Theorists notwithstanding, the causal link between the novel coronavirusĪnd the emergence of a new strain of potentially acute respiratory illness isĬlear, as is the exponential increase in both disease incidence and deaths There’s a second reason we are talking about the same thing:Ĭausation can be attributed. It’s that as the reality of what we are facing sinks in, people everywhere are showing that they are increasingly willing to put their immediate interests and conflicting values aside in the service of achieving a much larger, shared goal of slowing the pandemic. My point is not that COVID-19 signals the dawning of the age of Aquarius-the battles in Congress this week make it clear that rancor remains. A similar condition of value convergence emerges during time of war, but because the threat now is a pandemic virus and not an enemy nation, the desired goal of preventing loss of life is universally shared.
We are thus unified by the shared value of preserving life, which in turn means we are all actually talking about the same thing when we talk about the COVID crisis. The protection of one’s own life depends on the protection of the lives of others. Most importantly: the COVID-19 threat is immediate, global, and existential. Important respect from more familiar controversies at the intersection of Have to start by recognizing how the COVID-19 crisis differs in almost every Above all, weĪre learning that science’s place in politics is determined not by the logic ofįacts, but by the fundamental influence of human values. Sharply contradicts standard thinking about science and politics. Role of science in helping to guide us toward a better future-a lesson that The novelĬoronavirus offers up a powerful and extremely clear lesson about the appropriate Science and politics is now at the center of the world stage. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the relation between In their values and interests, certain in their own version of the factsĪnd immovable in their sense of what should or should not be done?
Nutritional guidelines, trade policy, and on and on? Why, despite all the researchĪnd expertise, do the opposing sides of these debates remain fixed Public education, chemicals in the environment, genetically modified organisms, Resolve disagreements around climate change, nuclear energy, mammograms, K–12 Why-despite huge andĮver-expanding bodies of relevant scientific research-is it so impossible to Under conditions of uncertainty and disagreement. For the past 30 years, I have tried to make sense of the interactionsīetween science and politics, especially the challenge of making decisions
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