Gregory of Nyssa’s “Reverse Contagion” and Roberto Esposito’s “Immunity”: Which Way Forward for the Pandemic's Aftermath?

Abstract

This paper makes three claims. First, the biopolitical dynamics underlying the socio-economical management of the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath is marked by the immunitary paradigm as proposed by Roberto Esposito. This involves making oneself immune of the obligations that community life brings with it. The response to the pandemic has made the above-mentioned paradigm only more acute and an alternative response more urgent. Second, the paper argues that Gregory of Nyssa’s concept of “reverse contagion” can offer a more wholesome response. In other words, engaging with others freely leads to spiritual endowment in the form of civic virtue. Third, in this line of reasoning some initiatives have already been made although more can be done: on a personal level, on a national level and on a global level. Nyssen's reverse contagion can, therefore, serve as a suitable paradigm to replace Esposito's immunitary paradigm in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.