{"id":86076,"date":"2020-05-24T10:36:23","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T15:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/?p=86076"},"modified":"2020-06-15T11:16:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T16:16:50","slug":"thoughts-short-term-and-long-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/thoughts-short-term-and-long-term\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts, short-term and long-term"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am beyond tired of all the CCP virus hysteria, and I don’t intend ever to allude to it again here. Instead, I refer you to the development of Edward Feser’s<\/a> thoughts on the matter over the past six weeks.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Some thoughts on the COVID-19 crisis<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In the short run<\/i>, then, my sympathies are more with those who defend the lockdown than with those who are skeptical of it. However, in the long run<\/i> those who defend the lockdown need to be more open, rather than less, to the considerations raised by the skeptics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

***<\/p>\n

The lockdown\u2019s loyal opposition<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at The Bulwark<\/i>, conservative lockdown defender Jonathan V. Last tells us that he won\u2019t link even to Fr. Thomas Joseph\u2019s article, let alone Rusty\u2019s. The reason is that Fr. Thomas Joseph\u2019s article \u201cmade matters worse, not better\u201d by granting \u201clegitimacy\u201d to the idea that \u201cthere are really two sides to the issue, and that reasonable and intelligent people can disagree.\u201d He compares Rusty\u2019s skepticism to that of flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers.<\/p>\n

This is outrageous. Does it not occur to Last that the surest way to reinforce skepticism is precisely to demonize it, even when it is expressed by a serious writer and thinker like Rusty?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

***<\/p>\n

The burden of proof is on those who impose burdens<\/a>:<\/p>\n

What I am sure of is this much: The burden of proof is not in the first place on him and people of like mind to show that the lockdown should be ended. The burden is on defenders<\/i> of the lockdown to show that it shouldn\u2019t<\/i> be….<\/p>\n

The issue is not just that doing massive damage to the economy is, if unnecessary, imprudent in the extreme \u2013 though, to say the very least, it most certainly is that. It\u2019s that the lockdown entails actions that, in ordinary circumstances, would be very gravely immoral<\/i>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

***<\/p>\n

The lockdown and appeals to authority<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Most people\u2019s opinions depend crucially on what they have heard from political commentators, journalists, politicians, and scientists. None of what any of these people say can be evaluated the way a philosophical argument can, viz. in a manner that entirely abstracts from considerations about the knowledge and biases of the people giving the arguments. And that includes, to some extent, the scientists. Moreover, the knowledge and biases of these experts give us grounds for having at least some reservations about what they say. And that too includes, at least to some extent, the scientists.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

***<\/p>\n

The lockdown is no longer morally justifiable<\/a>:<\/p>\n

As I have said before, I think that the lockdown that was put in place in the United States two months ago was morally justifiable given the circumstances at the time. In my opinion, under current circumstances, it is no longer morally justifiable. To be sure, I am not denying that some social distancing measures are still justifiable and even necessary. I am also not denying that a more modest lockdown may still be defensible in some localities. But the draconian total lockdown that was put in place across most of the country is at this point no longer defensible, and state and local authorities who are relaxing it are right to do so….<\/p>\n

But again, it isn\u2019t those who favor relaxing the lockdown who have the burden of proof<\/i>. The burden is on those who want to preserve it. Two months ago, they could make a strong case for having met it. Not any longer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Update: I can’t resist adding this:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Via Rachel Fulton Brown<\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am beyond tired of all the CCP virus hysteria, and I don’t intend ever to allude to it again here. Instead, I refer you to the development of Edward Feser’s thoughts on the matter over the past six weeks. Some thoughts on the COVID-19 crisis: In the short run, then, my sympathies are more … Continue reading “Thoughts, short-term and long-term”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-decline-and-fall"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xam3-mok","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86076"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86237,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86076\/revisions\/86237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}