疫區、口罩與無症狀感染者——新型冠狀病毒疫情如何破壞了我們的公共生活

Epidemic Areas, Masks, and the Asymptomatic - How Covid-19 has Hurt our Public Life

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

新型冠狀病毒疫情所帶來的巨大的、彌散的、不確定的威脅，使社會公共生活中人們熟悉和信賴的闢係與界限變得糢糊。在這種情沉下，人們最需要的就是發現“敵人”，重新為人際闢係和公共生活找到確定性。在精準、高效的科學檢測手段獲得普及之前，人們不得不選擇簡易的標籤化方法進行區 分。疫區標籤是通過清潔與污染的劃分來保護現有的正常生活秩序，但在找到敵人的過程中有可能造成對無辜者的誤傷；口罩標數的使用則首先指向了人群的區分與界限，是想要在混亂之中先找到群體邊界和歸屬感，但有可能會轉變為主動去創造敵人。這些手段的根本目的都是為了實現自我保護，但在這樣的利害關係考量之外，還存在著某種個人對他人和公共生活的普遍義務，只有我們能夠在生存危機的巨大壓力下選擇堅持這一道德義務，才能為戰勝疫情奠定真正的希望。當代的公共生活是一個緊密地彼此闢聯、密切交通、相互滲入和共生性的整體，但這個共同體本身是十分脆弱的，在巨大的安全壓力之下很容易滑向分裂與隔離。新型冠狀病毒疫情既是一次嚴峻的挑戰，又是一次重要的演習，我們需要在其中學到足夠多的經驗，為未來可能出現的更大危機做好準備。

The huge, diffuse, and uncertain threat brought about by the Covid-19 epidemic has blurred familiar and trusted relationships and the boundaries of public life. Under such circumstances, what people need most is to uncover the “enemy” and regain certainty in interpersonal relations and the public sphere. Before the popularization of accurate and efficient scientific detection methods, people used simple labeling methods to tell concepts apart. Labeling epidemic areas protects the status quo by demarcating cleanliness from pollution, but in finding the enemy, doing so may cause accidental injury to the innocent. Labeling masks allows distinctions in the crowd so that group boundaries and senses of belonging can be found in chaos. However, such labeling may lead to the creation of enemies. The fundamental goal of these methods is self-protection. Nevertheless, in addition to such considerations, individuals have a wider moral obligation to others and to public life. Only by choosing to adhere to our moral obligations under the enormous pressure of a survival crisis can we find true hope to defeat the epidemic. Contemporary public life is a symbiotic community that is closely related, in close communication, and mutually enmeshed. Such a community is very fragile, and it can easily slip into divisiveness and become isolated under huge security pressures. The Covid-19 epidemic is not only a serious challenge, but also an important exercise. We need to learn enough to prepare for greater crisis that may arise in the future.

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