Rationality and responsibility: Benchmarks to re-evaluate the law in the context of the pandemic crisis

Abstract

Human and social vulnerability in the face of the pandemic once again raises the question of knowledge and of the two key dimensions of the individual (rationality and responsibility) framed in the various relationships they establish (with nature, with other individuals, with state institutions etc.). These become relationships of knowledge and awareness concerning the facts and laws of social-state organization. Being aware that the pandemic crisis left its mark on all areas of life, changing the nature of human relations, affecting the benchmarks of values, and requiring a review of the foundations of social organization, we believe it necessary to assess the current situation through a systemic approach aimed at identifying the benchmarks of the balance between individuality and sociality. Thanks to the assessment of the interdependencies between the individual and the social, the following objectives were addressed: to define the changes caused by the pandemic and analyze the social processes; to validate the decisions taken by the authorities from a logical, praxeological and axiological point of view; to emphasize the importance of norms and principles in the social organization; to determine the role of social actors in overcoming the crisis, and to assess how social relations have evolved under pandemic conditions. Therefore, the present article, applying an interdisciplinary methodology to the pandemic crisis, aims to evaluate, understand and raise awareness of the situation and its impact on the social and human situation, where solidarity, rationality, and human responsibility are being reassessed.