In a now famous book of almost thirty-five years ago,The fragility of goodness, Martha Nussbaum explains how exposure to events that are beyond our control makes us vulnerable, to the point of compromising or even denying our human and ethical growth. Well, the Covid-19 virus seems to put us in such a situation, because – there's no point in denying it – it positively or negatively affects our choices and the essential ethical components of our lives.

However, this event, as alarming and distressing as it may be, must in no way paralyse us or, even less, make us lose sight of the fact that crises and difficulties can only be overcome with knowledge, that is, facing them with lucidity and rationality. The fact that we are vulnerable does not mean that we cannot limit the risks, also because in this case we are able to control and stem the spread of the virus, until it gets completely eradicated. Many disasters are the product of mistaken behaviours. Therefore, we must scrupulously and responsibly follow all the prevention rules that experts and authorities recommend us, even if they limit our usual social practices.

But maybe we can do more. And here I speak as a lecturer and as dean who is recording minute by minute, also as President of the Lombardy Rectors' Conference, the enormous discomfort that the virus emergency is creating. Standing still isn't helping anything, as we Lombardy's rectors keep telling each other and we have immediately created a whatsapp group, to exchange views, to make and share decisions: we have become a sort of extended family. First of all, we understood that this moment of imposed paralysis must be turned into an opportunity, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by new training methods, such as distance learning. Let me be clear: it is not at all a question of replacing frontal teaching, that of debate between teacher and students, which is something irreplaceable, representing a moment of formative and educational growth. I'm saying that as it happens when, for example, extraordinary needs lead one to be away from their loved ones and one is "happy" with seeing them via Skype, the same must happen in this situation of temporary impossibility to be in the classroom. Once the crisis is over, and it will obviously be, we will all meet again in the classroom with the usual teaching programme, which maybe we will learn to appreciate a little more. Of course, I realise that the emergency we are experiencing and the restrictions it imposes have and will have serious economic repercussions. However, I am confident not only that health is such a precious good that it cannot be compared with any kind of economic interest, but also that we will certainly be able, as soon as we get over this moment, to get the economy going again with greater drive. And the suspension of the classroom teaching activity of all schools and universities in our country until March 15th, decided by the Government last night, goes precisely in this direction, it is aimed at preserving and protecting this inalienable good that is health.

In any case, it is part of health – of mental and psychological health, I mean – to guarantee a minimum of normality and continuity. I am referring both to the lectures (in the ways mentioned before) and to the culminating moment of university life: the achievement of the degree. We have the duty to guarantee both the lessons and the degrees' deadlines, even if in alternative ways to the traditional ones. And I say this fully understanding the heartfelt appeals that many students who have to graduate in the next few weeks are sending me, asking me to allow them a traditional ceremony, open to their families and friends. Well, with "heart", as many people write to me, I am with them, but reason and responsibility lead me to invite them to understand that this cannot be done, that it would be illogical, risky and guilty. We will have the opportunity – it is a commitment that I make publicly – to celebrate in due course, when the safety conditions are in place to do so. Also because I would like this emergency that we are facing not to punish young people themselves, for whom, in fact, in the short-medium term, further targeted investments must be made to stabilise the positions of those who live in precarious employment and make invaluable contributions, as is the case of the three researchers (all three precarious) at the Sacco Hospital in Milan who isolated the coronavirus. But it will also be necessary to work to give more certainty to all those recent graduates who are about to undertake the academic career, shortening waiting times and acknowledging merit, a work that we in Bergamo started a long time ago.

It is hard to get used to rhythms that are different from those we were used to, especially when we don't decide them, but they are imposed on us by circumstances. We feel fragile, vulnerable, in the conditions described very well by Martha Nussbaum. However, we are always able to do something useful, concretely, to (still) maintain as much as possible the deadlines fixed in the social life of each of us. Only in this way can we escape what we perceive as an imposed destiny, which at least in part is often the result of our inertia and our inability to act differently.

Recton of University of Bergamo  
Remo Morzenti Pellegrini

Ecodibergamo.it, March 5th 2020