Description du projet
Protéger les personnes de la solitude
Un tiers des adultes âgés de 65 à 79 ans affirment se sentir seuls la plupart du temps. La moitié des personnes de plus de 80 ans déclarent se sentir souvent seules. Les personnes handicapées et les adolescents constituent d’autres groupes d’âge présentant un risque élevé de solitude chronique. Ces données sont alarmantes compte tenu du fait que la solitude chronique est associée à la dépression et à une mauvaise santé physique. Dans ce contexte, le projet Ethics of Loneliness, financé par le CER, se penchera sur les devoirs moraux des citoyens et ceux des États pour aider à protéger la population de la solitude et à s’assurer que les individus sont capables de s’autoprotéger. Ses conclusions serviront de base à la première théorie normative de la solitude dans la littérature savante et contribueront à hisser l’éthique de la solitude et de la sociabilité au rang de nouveau sous-domaine de la philosophie morale et politique.
Objectif
Loneliness, which can be defined as the negative mental states (e.g. sadness, despair) that people experience when they feel that they do not have enough relationships, or not the right kinds of relationships, is a widespread phenomenon in many societies. Even prior to the current pandemic, surveys from Europe and North-America reported that 20 to 35 percent of adults between the ages of 65 and 79 say that they are frequently lonely, a figure that rises to 40 to 50 percent among those aged 80 and above. Other groups that are at high risk of chronic loneliness include informal care-givers; people with disabilities; and adolescents, with 40 percent of 16-24 year old Britons saying that they are 'often' or 'very often' lonely. These statistics are worrisome, as chronic loneliness has been found to contribute to e.g. depression; dementia; and poor physical health, with some medical experts arguing that its health effects can be compared to those of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In addition to this, loneliness takes a heavy economic toll. In the UK, for instance, it is estimated that ill health associated with loneliness costs employers 2.5 billion GBP every year. Yet while the severity of these harms and economic costs makes loneliness prevention and alleviation a highly important topic to study (as psychologists and sociologists have long realized), philosophers have paid scant attention to it. The aim of this project is to fill this lacuna. Through ethical analysis and reflection on relevant philosophical, psychological and sociological literatures, it will investigate what moral duties private individuals and societies more broadly (i.e. states) have to help protect people from loneliness and to help ensure that people can protect themselves from loneliness. This will culminate in the development of the first normative theory of loneliness within the scholarly literature and in the establishment of a new sub-field within moral and political philosophy.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitution d’accueil
9000 Gent
Belgique