Intergenerational Responsibility and the Covid-19 Pandemic / Responsabilidade intergeracional e pandemia de covid-19

Abstract

The pandemic caused by covid-19 has killed more than 150,000 Brazilians, among which more than 70% are ag(e)ing individuals. Although this disease's dynamics imply hindering the virus's transmissibility, there is an intense pressure to resume activities, which has revealed and reaffirmed a logic of indifference towards this population. We argue that controlling the pandemic requires another type of responsibility, of an intergenerational character. Therefore, in addition to reflecting on the relationship between identity and otherness in ag(e)ing, we draw from Bakhtin's reflections on the philosophy of act (answerable), emphasizing the concepts of architectonics and excess of seeing. Finally, considering otherness as a subjectivity constituent element, we reflect on the importance of the encountering among different generations in order to acknowledge the alibis that have exempted the subjects from taking the due actions to face this pandemic.