The philosophy of care in the face of the covid-19 crisis

Abstract

Consciousness of human vulnerability and fragility has arisen due to the Covid-19 pandemic together with the awareness that care for others and interdependency are central pillars of life. The present article pursues, in view of the sanitary crisis, to offer a philosophic consideration about human vulnerability and fragility, and to justify the reason why we must respond to the fragility of the other. Moreover, the article deepens into the philosophy or the ethics of care. Readers will be driven through the beginning of humanity where interdependency and care for others have defined us as a species. The origin of the ethics of care and its fundamental aspects will be covered as well. The final reflection focuses on the need to place care in the political and social scene considering that care is not a private obligation but a public one. The current pandemic has given us a golden opportunity to place care at the centre of life.