Author(s): Boston Boston Review

Society & Culture | Coronavirus and Pandemics

COVID-19 is not just a crisis of public health but a crisis of public reason. What do we know, and how should we act? From masks to models and from data to drugs, the novel coronavirus has prompted a high-stakes dispute about ideas: which evidence counts, which arguments succeed, and which interventions matter. The essays in this volume-from leading physicians and epidemiologists, historians and social scientists, anthropologists and philosophers-explore this meeting place of science and politics head on. Combining historical reflection with careful argumentation, the contributors provide a lucid and essential guide to the greatest public debate of our time. Together they make clear that the challenge of COVID-19 has always been not only scientific but also social and political. Boston Review is an independent and nonprofit public space for robust discussion of ideas and culture. Animated by hope and committed to equality, we believe in the power of collective reasoning and imagination to create a more just world. We invite you to join the conversation. Visit bostonreview.net. Book jacket.