Rethinking Distance and Presence Conceptions in Times of COVID-19 and Post-COVID-19: The Search for a New Educational Literacy

ABSTRACT

This work aims to deepen etymological, semantic, sociocultural and philosophical issues in relation to the concepts of distance and presence for their understanding of relevance and pertinence in the context of the current scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, it is intended to argue that the radical dichotomies of common sense around such concepts do more harm than good in the clarification necessary for taking decisions and attitudes that protect individuals and collective health and life. The coronavirus pandemic requires the need for a clear discernment, supported by philosophical and scientific knowledge, which lead to a change in a set of attitudes, values, perceptions and sensitivities in relation to responsible social distancing, often contaminated by discourses without argument or a solid knowledge base. From a methodological point of view, this work performs a reflexive theoretical incursion in an essay style form, whose objective is to formulate hypotheses about the role that the concepts of distance and presence acquire from the context of COVID-19 onward, and how they should also be positioned in the context of future pandemics that may happen. Of course, this requires a re-education in the treatment of such concepts in light of the act of caring, as well as concerns about health, well-being, the individual and social life. To deepen these aspects, the spirit of this work will be supported by theoretical references that intertwine philosophical questions about presence and distance associated with human values, such as affection, ethics and solidarity, philosophical questions about the use of face masks, and how such concepts are discussed and related with the idea of caring for and protecting the health in the context of COVID-19. The goal of these reflective support structures is to deepen our discussion of philosophical issues in the face of attitudinal challenges, which will result from new social relations demanded during the COVID-19 pandemic period as well as the challenges that will emerge in response to the social habits that will have to become naturalized, with greater frequency, in the post-COVID-19 period. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.