Abstract

In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, this paper reflects on the effects of great epidemics on our cultural attitudes towards illness and death. First, through a parallel between the coronavirus pandemic and the medieval Black Death, I examine the impact of epidemics on our ways of thinking about reality and of responding collectively to the fear of dying. Based on the historical periodization of the different mentalities towards death, formulated by Philippe Ariès, I argue that epidemic phenomena modify the way in which the different cultures conceive and deal with finitude, and how this fact manifests itself in the contemporary society, characterized by the denial of death. I conclude that current pandemic can lead us to a thoughtful reappropriation of our mortality. Second, based on the reflections of American writer Susan Sontag, I analyze the negative impact of military metaphors associated with contagious diseases, and how these metaphors promote our fears and irrational attitudes in the face of crisis. Finally, I show that the emergence of new pathologies, such as coronavirus disease, is generating a conceptual change in medicine that leads to rethinking many of the traditional ideas regarding microorganisms and the infections they cause. I claim that this scientific revolution may contribute to a positive modification in our ways of understanding death and disease, and to the search for a more balanced relationship with the natural environment that also helps prevent future pandemics.