Disease and fear as elements of pandemic

Abstract

The article discusses question how coronavirus infection causing a worldwide pandemic represents not only a threat to the health of the population but also leads to philosophical, psychological, and sociological speculations. The author intends to consider implications arising from a pandemic using artistic works written during a pandemic that have shaken bases of human life, human outlook, and attitude to life. Consequently, the author tries to explain attitude to pandemic from the standpoints of such concepts like disease, health, fear, and hope that can totally disrupt depths of human beings during the plague. The author paid attention to artistic works such as the Decameron by the Italian writer and thinker G. Boccaccio, Plague by A. Camus, and A feast in time of plague by A.S. Pushkin. Using these works and having as red thread of his inquiry isolation (repudiation of the world), the author defines what kinds of reaction can human have in the face of disease and, eventually, in the face of death because of sickness. The author considers that this approach, which lies at the intersection of sociology, psychology, and philosophy, can highlight some behavioral paradigms that contribute to comprehension of what happens in human outlook, mentality, and mind when a new phenomenon occurs, which is necessary to interiorize and make ours that, in turn, implies enhancement of stress tolerance of the population in emergency situation, as it happens during the COVID-19 pandemic.