The Plague, Swine Flu and the destruction of nihilism
'All this fuss about Swine Flu - it's absurd!' For some there can be no argument with this view. In the last few months Swine Flu has taken over the news broadcasts, NHS phone lines and virtually the entire Daily Mail output, and all for what? A relatively low risk condition, that can be cured with one simple dose of medication, and that most of us have a minimal chance of contracting in the first place. Now in this blog I am not going to consider whether this reaction is merited or not, but why it has come about in the first place. Why is there this sensationalism? Why do so may panic at the onsite of every new virus, as if it might one step from Armageddon . Is this a good thing or a bad thing? How would we cope with a plague today? The first point I would like to make, is that the above statement is absolutely right. The reaction to Swine Flu is absurd, but purely in a philosophical way. The absurd I refer to is that of Kierkegaard and Camus , of our search for self i...