Answer:
Explanation:
In the space of a years the pandemic has transformed the world. Beginning with what seemed like a routine public health challenge in a single location, it quickly became a global health emergency, then a social and an economic catastrophe. While the full consequences of this momentous event may not become apparent for many years, it is inevitable that its effects will extend over generations to come.
The unfolding crisis has imposed a need on many people to make decisions with deep, sometimes unprecedented, ethical content. Those at the front line of clinical care have had to decide about their duties to their patients, their families, and to the broader community, sometimes with life or death consequences.
The response to our call for contributions to the proposed archive was itself remarkable. The number and quality of the submissions was striking, and their diversity was extraordinary—in terms both of the rich variety of substantive issues with which they dealt and the range of their theoretical, cultural, and geographical origins. Together, they spoke of a fecund array of traditions, conceptual resources, belief systems, and personal experiences. To pursue further our own commitment to facilitating dialogues across disciplinary boundaries we encouraged the prospective authors to participate in the review process, to foster and enhance insights and understanding across the chasms of theory and weltanschauung. When we surveyed the results we were struck both by the wide-ranging nature of the materials and by the presence of recurring themes. Together, the submissions presented a picture of the complexity of the experiences formed in the crucible of the pandemic emergency, of the diverse effects on cultures, societies, and lifeworlds in transition, and of shared concerns, hopes, and fears.
