Thinking In a Pandemic | Boston Review
Become a Member | Boston Review

A Political and Literary Forum

Menu Search
Donate Shop Join

Philosophy & Religion

The Unfinished Project of Enlightenment

In a sweeping new history of Western philosophy, Jürgen Habermas narrates the progress of humanity through the unfolding of public reason. Missing from that story are the systems of violence and dispossession whose legacies are all too visible today.

Brandon Bloch

Read More

Philosophy & Religion

Law & Justice, Philosophy & Religion

Rights in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis creates a conflict not between individual rights and the community, but rather between individual rights themselves—including, above all, the right to health.

Attila Mraz

Philosophy & Religion, Science & Nature

From Pandemic Facts to Pandemic Policies

In the debate over COVID-19 responses, it is not only the scientific facts—including the grim death toll—that are at issue, but also the less often discussed relationship between science and decision-making, where values inevitably play a role.

Jonathan Fuller

Philosophy & Religion

The Tragedy of Costs and Benefits

In the fight against COVID-19, weighing costs and benefits is indispensable for moral clarity. At the same time, we must not forget its limits.

Roberto Tallarita

Forum

The Philosophy of Anger

There are two problems with anger: it is morally corrupting, and it is completely correct. 

Agnes Callard

Philosophy & Religion

Ethics at a Distance

We may feel individually powerless to contribute to social transformation. But each of us bears responsibility for helping to create a more just world.

Vafa Ghazavi

Philosophy & Religion

Dying in Jerusalem

Unlike most places in the world where people get buried where they lived, for over two millennia people have traveled from far and wide to die in Jerusalem. But now the city is running out of graves, and against the backdrop of the Israel–Palestine conflict, burial is often a political matter.

Etan Nechin

Philosophy & Religion, Science & Nature

The Robots Are Coming

In the overhyped age of deep learning, rumors of thinking robots are greatly exaggerated. Still, we cannot leave decisions about even this sort of AI in the hands of those who stand to profit from its use.

Kenneth A. Taylor

Philosophy & Religion

The Weakness of the Furies

Victim anger can be useful to the political struggle, but it can also become excessive and obsessive, deforming the self.

Martha C. Nussbaum

Philosophy & Religion, Science & Nature

Science Hasn't Refuted Free Will

A growing chorus says that science has shown free will to be an illusion. But it actually has offered arguments in its favor.

Christian List

Philosophy & Religion

The Radical Equality of Lives

Judith Butler talks with Brandon M. Terry about MLK, the grievability of black lives, and how to defend nonviolence today. 

Brandon M. Terry, Judith Butler

Philosophy & Religion

From the Editors: On Anger

Our new issue explores anger in its many forms—public and private, personal and political—raising an issue that we must grapple with: Does the vast well of public anger compromise us all?

Joshua Cohen, Deborah Chasman

Philosophy & Religion, Science & Nature

What Makes Science Trustworthy

The “scientific method” of high school textbooks does not exist. But there are scientific methods, and they play an essential role in making scientific knowledge reliable.

Philip Kitcher

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Vital reading on politics, literature, and more in your inbox

Love Boston Review?

Then you’ll love our new membership program! Join us to support engaged discussion on critical issues. You’ll also enjoy exclusive membership benefits.
Get Started

Copyright © 1993-2020 Boston Review and its authors.

Support Boston Review

Become a Member

Make a tax-deductible donation today

Boston Review Printing Note: For best printing results try turning on any options your web browser's print dialog makes available for printing backgrounds and background graphics.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Get Our Weekly Emails

Confronting the challenges of this moment demands all the moral and deliberative clarity we can muster. While much remains uncertain, Boston Review’s responsibility to public reason is sure. Sign up for our newsletter and don’t miss a thing. 

THINKING IN A PANDEMIC

Donate Today