(In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, 2021) Estok, Simon C.
Pandemics turn caution into fear and fear into phobias, and Covid-19 shows this well. Pandemics in some ways level the field, reminding us that we are not so different from the rest of the animal world; in other ways, pandemics accentuate and exaggerate differences and inequalities. Pandemics and their discourses also raise debates about the balance between social responsibility and individual liberties. And pandemics are always environmental events, the current one being a direct result of closer human/nonhuman animal contactsÑitself a result of diminishing food sources and increasing populations. Given these facts, and given the fact that ecophobia is central to the environmental crises we have created, theoretical, personal, and political discussions about ecophobia and Covid-19 are very timely.