Which books should you read while self-isolating from coronavirus?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: Which books should you read while self-isolating from coronavirus?
Position‹3 of 6›: Science Fiction
Argument1 of 4›: Blindness

Jose Saramago creates a chilling alternate reality, where blindness is contagious, and society becomes susceptible to collapse in the face of fear and brutality.

The argument

You should read Blindness by Jose Saramago while self-isolating because it explores the effects of a crisis on humanity. Saramago’s book is an allegorical tale that explores a town's reaction to an epidemic that causes people to suddenly become blind. As the entire town becomes seemingly affected, society seems to collapse in panic. It causes the reader to think about how reason can dissipate in a time of crisis. This allows them to reflect on their own actions in response to the current pandemic and consider how they can overcome panic in a time of crisis. People should also read Blindness because it makes the reader consider societal behaviors in general. Times of crisis tend to bring out the extremes in people, both good and bad. Throughout the story, the author introduces extremist actions of brutality and overwhelming kindness. During the pandemic, there have been similar extreme occurrences. Through reading and observing the similarities, readers can see how humanity is affected on a global scale by these extremes. Blindness also gives hope to the reader in a time of crisis. Although the book is extremely dark in some places, the moments of kindness and love suggest that humanity is not completely lost in times of fear. In addition, the book ends on a hopeful note. This reminds the reader that even in times of crisis, they can have hope that their pain will come to an end.

Premises

[P1]Self-isolation reading is most valuable when it helps readers reflect on and cope with the current crisis. [P2] Saramago's Blindness allegorically depicts an epidemic that exposes how panic, extreme cruelty, and extreme kindness emerge in society during a crisis. [P3] The novel's hopeful ending and moments of compassion offer readers reassurance that pain and fear eventually pass. [C] Therefore, you should read Blindness while self-isolating from coronavirus.

Counter-arguments

In times of crisis, people do not want to read about fictional, catastrophic situations. This can lead to more anxiety about the future. While self-isolating, reading fiction should give people a way to escape their situations, not dwell on them even more.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The premise stipulates that isolation reading is most valuable when it engages the crisis. Many readers want the opposite — distance from a situation they cannot get away from in daily life — and the argument gives no reason to prefer its standard. [Rejecting P2] An allegory of social collapse under an epidemic is the content most likely to raise anxiety rather than settle it. What the premise counts as the book's value is precisely what makes it a difficult choice for the moment. [Rejecting P3] The hopeful ending arrives after several hundred pages of degradation and cruelty. The reassurance is real, but the route to it requires dwelling at length on the fear the reader is already living with. [Rejecting C] At most the premises support a narrower recommendation: Blindness rewards readers who want to think hard about a pandemic while inside one. That is a particular appetite, not a general prescription for self-isolation.