The Covid-19 World: Learning or Downfall

Abstract

there), or fragmentally (as if different entities of the world did not form a whole). In the global world of mercurial flows and relations (of viruses, human beings, digital bits, material artifacts, and particles), approaches based on fragmentation are unable to describe the whole accurately (Peters 2020). As Morse (1993: viii) remarks, although viruses are biological of origin when 'the host is human, social factors can play a very significant role in both dissemination and expression of disease. On a larger scale, many epidemics can be understood only in their ecological context.' As we try to make sense of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is critical to examine the complex interplay of viral behaviors in all spheres of life. Such complexity brings about the concept of 'viral modernity' that is 'based upon the nature of viruses, the ancient and critical role they play in evolution and culture, and the basic application to understanding the role of information and forms of bioinformation in the social world' (Peters, Jandrić, and McLaren 2020). Viral modernity may be a new theoretical concept, but its features can be traced throughout human history; 'the Covid-19 pandemic is merely the first global exercise of viral modernity' of the twenty-first century (Jandrić et al. 2020). From Umweltforschung, founded by the Baltic German biologist Jakob von Uexküll (1864-1944), one can further argue that various entities, such as coronaviruses, have their Umwelts defined as objective totalities with 'significant surroundings,' standard forms and characteristics. The Umwelts coordinate and interact, in one way or another, with their habitats and provide identities to specific entities. The entity called SARS-CoV-2 also 'changes its meaning accordingly when perceived as one or the other, accompanied by modifications of the entirety of both its material and formal properties' (Sebeok 1986: 4). An Umwelt is a transparent part of the web of sign relations that are 'at all times informational and energetic, spatial and temporal, objective and subjective' (Sebeok 1986: 23). It transpires within the boundaries of entities and interacts with other Umwelts in social semiosis or semiosphere (Lotman 2005). These concepts are essential for understanding the Covid-19 pandemic because they bring the Umwelts of viruses and other interacting entities of the world together (see also Peters, McLaren, and Jandrić 2020). The semiosphere unites the biological with psychological, social, and other Umwelts through the realm of communication.

Biodigital Technologies and the Bioeconomy: The Global New Green Deal?

“…Today, we again need to anticipate the future and reinvent our theories and practices in and for the biodigital context. Under pandemic conditions, our work has been transformed by an increasing sense of global oneness and solidarity (Mañero, 2020;Suoranta, 2020), some environmental benefits such as a decrease in carbon emissions (Lewis, 2020), and also many losses from most obviously human lives, to the sorrows of living in a time of 'no touch' (Sapon-Shevin and SooHoo, 2020). Political responses to the pandemic vary from balanced approaches based on solidarity (Kerres, 2020) to the downright craziness of the Trump administration (McLaren, 2020), and we now see emerging initiatives such as the Global New Green Deal that may well herald a new green age that at last takes sustainability seriously.…”

Biodigital technologies and the bioeconomy: The Global New Green Deal?

“…Today, we again need to anticipate the future and reinvent our theories and practices in and for the biodigital context. Under pandemic conditions, our work has been transformed by an increasing sense of global oneness and solidarity (Mañero, 2020;Suoranta, 2020), some environmental benefits such as a decrease in carbon emissions (Lewis, 2020), and also many losses from most obviously human lives, to the sorrows of living in a time of 'no touch' (Sapon-Shevin & SooHoo, 2020). Political responses to the pandemic vary from balanced approaches based on solidarity (Kerres, 2020) to the downright craziness of the Trump administration (McLaren, 2020), and we now see emerging initiatives such as the Global New Green Deal that may well herald a new green age that at last takes sustainability seriously.…”

Educating students during a pandemic in the light of research

“…That is why academic teachers should not only teach but also educate themselves on how to conduct classes in the new reality. Their education should be based on a critical analysis of complex topics of reality, and the ongoing problems of the modern world ( Suoranta, 2020 ).…”

“…It is also urgent, among other things, that the advantages and disadvantages of online learning under different circumstances should be continuously examined ( Suoranta, 2020 ). It should be remembered that the quality of online learning requires further research.…”