Things I Didn’t Think About Before the Pandemic

“Things I did not think about before the pandemic”
Philosophy asks us to consider big questions, about evil, consciousness, justice, and the like. Often, these big questions are made more apparent or urgent because of things that are happening in the world. Clearly,
the dominant thing going on in most of our lives right now is the COVID19 Pandemic and all the changes
the pandemic has forced us to make in our lives (shelter in place, remote learning, job changes, etc). Can
we think about this philosophically, using this massive disruption as a way to think about things in a new
way?
Your paper #2 assignment is less of a paper and more of a series of (possibly connected) paragraphs
where you consider “things I didn’t think about before the pandemic”
The total length for this should be 2-3 pages.
You will choose several (3-5) “things you didn’t think about before the pandemic” and write a few
paragraphs about them, trying to tie them into the philosophical themes and readings we’ve discussed in
class as much as possible.
Some possibilities include:
The pace of life you lived before the pandemic and the pace you live now. Have things “slowed down” as you have had to shelter in place? Is this a good or bad thing?
The importance of movement and/or travel. Have you had to cancel plans because of this situation? How did that make you feel? Was it” fair”?
Do you see the impact of the pandemic playing out differently according to social class? Generations?
Neighborhoods?
What about those people who don’t seem to be complying with the restrictions? Are they doing something
morally wrong?