The virus in the age of madness / Bernard-Henri Lévy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lévy, Bernard-Henri, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

COVID-19 (Disease)--Social aspects.

COVID-19 (Disease).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 106 pages)

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Connecticut ; London : Yale University Press, [2020]

Summary:

A trenchant look at how the coronavirus reveals the dangerous fault lines of contemporary society With medical mysteries, rising death tolls, and conspiracy theories beamed minute by minute through the vast web universe, the coronavirus pandemic has irrevocably altered societies around the world. In this sharp essay, world-renowned philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy interrogates the many meanings and metaphors we have assigned to the pandemic—and what they tell us about ourselves. Drawing on the philosophical tradition from Plato and Aristotle to Lacan and Foucault, Lévy asks uncomfortable questions about reality and mythology: he rejects the idea that the virus is a warning from nature, the inevitable result of global capitalism; he questions the heroic status of doctors, asking us to think critically about the loci of authority and power; he challenges the panicked polarization that dominates online discourse. Lucid, incisive, and always original, Lévy takes a bird’s-eye view of the most consequential historical event of our time and proposes a way to defend human society from threats to our collective future.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1: Come Back, Michel Foucault—We Need You!

Chapter 2: Divine Surprise

Chapter 3: Delicious Confinement

Chapter 4: Life, They Say

Chapter 5: Goodbye, World?

Notes

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-300-25738-4

OCLC:

1164131078