MetaJess

Um sorry if that’s a typo but I believe one *doesnt* have to be emotional about C-virus. The fact that most people are being emotional to a degree that I think is beyond what I’d expect from this event is evidence that people are leaning into it/crave meaning.

No typo, I used 'I' not 'one', because I mean me. I see the emotions I've felt so far as useful signals about the implications of the virus on the things I care about. They're also needs because if I suppress them it's bad for me - eg producing circular/anxious thoughts

If you see them that way then that’s great. I’m seeing other people in constant fear, disproportionate to the problem. The collective psychology of panic also seems to be causing more problems than it’s solving.

I'm still open to a thesis of 'crisis of meaning' btw, I just don't really understand that thesis currently. The closest thing I can match it with is the idea that we tend to delude ourselves on what's important in life, and our emotions at a time like this reveal that to us

Can you say more about what you don’t understand?

I don't understand what evidence there is that people feel emotional about coronavirus due to them 'craving meaning', as opposed to the situation being meaningful to them in a way that is partly emotional

Meaning and emotions are always bound together. My sense is that people are deriving more meaning, and more emotions, and taking more extreme actions, than I’d expect from the event. Do you agree?

No. I think we're all freaking out about as much as I'd expect