During COVID-19 we have witnessed some commendable acts at the local and broader political levels, but there have also been some questionable behaviours and perhaps even some inexcusable actions and decisions. We cannot wind back the clock but what opportunity is there for forgiveness? How well or poorly do we exercise such a virtue in private and public life and can we forgive our political leaders? What is the role of love and forgiveness as we emerge (hopefully) out of the grips of the virus?

Helping us to answer some of these question we are joined by Professor John Lippitt, Director of the IES (and Champion of the VT podcast project)in this concluding episode.

John is a renowned Kierkegaard Scholar and philosopher with research interest in the virtues among other topics… John has a forthcoming book titled ‘Love’s Forgiveness’, which explores the nature of forgiveness, including the relationship this has to other virtues such as humility, hope and love.

Some have called the COVID-19 pandemic an unprecedented crisis, however there have been similar ordeals throughout history. Plagues in the first and second millennia caused millions of deaths and many more hardships, playing a significant role in the shaping of human history.

Moments of crises across history have also give risen to philosophical thought and reflection, paving the way for great thinkers to suggest a way forward and leave us with rich philosophical wisdom to draw upon.

But what can philosophy do for us now, and how applicable is the wisdom of the ages?

Professor Renee Kohler-Ryan, Dean of Philosophy and Theology at Notre Dame Australia, joins us to discuss how philosophy can help us think through COVID-19.

We take a look at how grassroots democratic and religious participation has been affected by COVID-19 by speaking to community leaders in the Sydney Alliance.

The Sydney Alliance is an organisation that engages everyday people from diverse religious and non-religious backgrounds.

Working for the common good in Sydney, the alliance is a coalition of community organisations, religious organisations from diverse Christian, Jewish, and Islamic communities, and trade unions that organises its members to make Sydney a more equitable and just city to live in.

As the USA weeps for its pandemic victims and angry protesters take to the streets demanding that the lockdown and institutional racism finally end, what do we make of it all? In this episode we try and understand the role of religion in a time of social distress and ask whether religious responses to the current crisis could make things better or worse.

Joined by Dr John Rees, Research Associate at the Institute for Ethics & Society at The University of Notre Dame Australia where he co-convenes the Religion & Global Ethics program.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents multiple ethical dilemmas that leave us with no easy solutions. This is often referred to in ethics as a world of competing sorrows. To help us think through some of the ethical complexities, we need an array of expertise, including ethical expertise. In this episode, we discuss ethical decision making with world renowned ethicist and IES affiliate, Professor Margaret Somerville.

At a time like this, it's incredibly important to be able to think well about the moral and epistemic quality of the online environments we find ourselves in. Tim Smartt, Research Associate and convenor of the Moral Philosophy & Ethics Education research area at IES, takes us through some important epistemic virtues we will need to consider during the pandemic.