{"id":110913,"date":"2020-03-17T11:13:56","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T10:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=110913"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:45","slug":"philosopher-tim-de-mey-i-do-groceries-for-my-parents-because-theyve-self-quarantined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/03\/17\/philosopher-tim-de-mey-i-do-groceries-for-my-parents-because-theyve-self-quarantined\/","title":{"rendered":"Philosopher Tim de Mey: \u2018I do groceries for my parents, because they\u2019ve self-quarantined\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tim de Mey is assistant professor of Theoretical Philosophy at Erasmus School of Philosophy. These past few years the Flemish philosopher has been involved in developing various online courses. Nevertheless, when it comes to giving lectures, the COVID-19 outbreak has created all sorts of practical problems.<\/p>\n

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Are you still working from the university or are you working from home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to my pied-\u00e0-terre in Ghent on Saturday so I can help my parents. They\u2019re in the category that is most at risk, which is why they\u2019ve self-quarantined. To avoid them having to go to the supermarket, I\u2019m doing groceries for them. I leave food on their doorstep or they come pick it up in their car.\u201d<\/p>\n

How is it in Ghent? Completely deserted?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cRestaurants and bars have been closed since Friday evening, but things haven\u2019t quieted down entirely. I can look towards the railway station from my window and I can see quite a few students who seem to be on their way to their digs. Although I wonder why, because the universities are closed here too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I\u2019ve also promised to help my 8-year-old goddaughter. She\u2019ll be stuck at home the whole day over the next few weeks\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

What did you do yourself in response to this situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve stocked up on some food, buying a bit more than I normally would. And I\u2019ve also promised to help my 8-year-old goddaughter. She\u2019ll be stuck at home the whole day over the next few weeks. This has complicated things for her parents somewhat \u2013 so I\u2019ve promised to keep her busy a bit. Either via Skype or maybe I\u2019ll drop by in person, although that may be slightly risky. These kids are all doing a \u2018corona challenge\u2019 so they can learn something new while schools are closed. My plan was to teach her musical notes.\u201d<\/p>\n

To which extent can you still do your work for the university?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNormally speaking, two of my courses would have started today: Logic and Epistemology. I\u2019m currently conferring with my colleague on our plan of action. Because we need to determine how we can ensure that the lectures and the exam can still go ahead. I\u2019ll be checking whether last year\u2019s videos can still be used, and I\u2019ll definitely be recording several new clips next week. Those clips could prove a challenge, though, because they need to be fun and creative and <\/em>contain a lot of information. It will be interesting to see how that works out with other lectures: actually recording a video like that tends to come at the end of the process \u2013 you can\u2019t simply start from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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