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Stoic advice: should I volunteer during a pandemic, at risk of my health?
K. writes: During this time of crisis I’m grateful everyday for my privilege. I contacted my local food bank to offer my time as a volunteer and they responded immediately regarding a 6-hr shift next week. It’s in the warehouse, picking food items for government issued care packages for people in vulnerable communities that may or may not be unwell but are certainly at risk.
When I told a friend he strongly suggested that I should stay at home and not put myself at risk. That I should donate money or pay someone to do the shift for me. The latter seemed morally redundant and the former seemed like an “easy way out” option. What are your thoughts? How do you balance personal responsibility with altruism during a pandemic? You could argue that my work — educational programs for students in vulnerable communities — would suffer if I fell sick, potentially limiting its impact. But as someone who is physically fit and useful, is it my moral duty to contribute as I am able? Especially when there are people still working, not to mention the healthcare workers who are going to be stretched to their limits over the following months.
This is a common, and crucial moral problem that we all face, in one form or another: what are the limits of our moral obligations? And what ethical criteria should we use…
