Reflection on the apprehension of uncertainty in the Age of Covid-19: towards a continuum of unknowing

Abstract

This article proposes to present a reflection on the apprehension of uncertainty in a particular and unprecedented environment, such as that of the 2020 health crisis. Today, with multidisciplinary, theoretical and intellectual proliferation has made the concept of uncertainty particularly polysemic and a source of confusion. The attribution of a precise and universal definition remains very problematic. Attempts to define uncertainty in different historical contexts have come up against epistemological approaches, methods of analysis, and even specific and very disparate intervention languages, creating a rich but sometimes controversial conceptual landscape. On this basis, this article attempts to explore in depth the meaning of the concept given the hostile and unpredictable context of the Covid-19 pandemic period. The interest of such a perspective is to provide contextual and interpretative insight into this test of apprehension uncertainty. The line of argument developed in this paper reveals the value of apprehending the concept's full complexity through the lens of an ignorance continuum, spanning near-certainty to absolute ignorance. Transcending traditional dichotomous boundaries of uncertainty (measurable vs. immeasurable), this progressive and gradual vision makes it possible to visualize the variety of unknowns that range from the partially controllable to utterly unpredictable unknown.

JEL Classification : D8, B16, C53, H12.

Paper type : Theoretical Research.