The absurd of brazilian legal theory in pandemic times: thoughts from the novel "The plague", by Albert Camus

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the Legal Theory in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemics, in 2020, highlighting the normative science, based on the philosophical perspective of the absurd, as developed in the novel The Plague, by Albert Camus (1936-1960). Since the beginning of 2020, the Brazilian state has been dealing with the global challenge of facing the erratic and fast contagion of the virus SARS-COV-2. A vast number of texts has been issued, in every sphere of the federation, to justify the public state actions, in order to maintain the legal social control. The constant quarrels of power, together with the economic decrease caused by social isolation, brought elements of distrust and denial regarding state actions, even when supported by the Law. A comparable situation is seen in Camus’ novel, in which, in the face of an epidemic, the worst of individuals is exposed, as the social cohesion of solidarity is abandoned. The methodology used focuses on bibliographic research. The conclusion identifies the presence of the same denial present in the absurd, already proclaimed by the Algerian thinker in the mid-twentieth century, which represents, in the public sphere, a threat to the continuity of democratic health.