I’d like to begin this post by taking a moment to think about the roots of the word crisis, where it comes from, and its etymology. The word originates from the Greek krisis, meaning “decisive moment”.
In the early 15th century, crisis was taken to mean a “decisive point in the progress of a disease,” as well as “vitally important or decisive state of things, point at which change must come, for better or worse,”. This came from the Latinised form of the Greek krisis.
In the context of our learning thus far, it is interesting that it was in the 15th century that the word was directly linked to disease. In the century following the Black Death, it appeared that crisis and memories of disease become linked in the collective linguistic psyche of the English world.
Koselleck delves deeply into distinctions between definitions of crisis in political, medical and social language. An aspect of his text which stood out most prominently was the bringing together of all these very different areas. “At all times the concept is applied to life-deciding alternatives meant to answer questions about what is just or unjust, what contributes to salvation or damnation, what furthers health or brings death.” (361).
The cohesiveness of defining crisis as a concept applied to life-deciding alternatives is interesting in light of topics covered. In relation to climate change, it is a question of justice or lack thereof when considering the economic inequality inherent in climate change. In relation to plague, ideas of salvation or damnation relate to religious beliefs about the cause of plague.
References
Koselleck, Reinhart, and Michaela W. Richter. “Crisis.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 67, no. 2, 2006, pp. 357–400. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30141882. Accessed 26 Mar. 2021.