THE ETHICS OF RESPONSIBILITY AFTER CHORNOBYL: STIGMATIZATION, TRAUMA AND THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE

Abstract

The article reveals the essential connection between the mechanisms of social stigmatization, the specific nature of traumatic experience, and the problem of justice for those affected by the Chornobyl disaster and the subsequent generations who inherited its consequences.

The author analyzes the philosophical foundations of Chornobyl-related stigma through Martin Buber's distinction between “I–Thou” and “I–It” relations, Alfred Schützʼs structure of concentric circles of social proximity, and Erving Goffmanʼs concepts of invisible threat and Mary Douglasʼs notion of symbolic pollution.

The mechanism of epistemic injustice (Miranda Fricker) is analyzed, through which the testimonies of affected persons were systematically devalued by state institutions. It is shown that Chornobyl trauma does not conform to the standard model of post-traumatic stress disorder, as it is open-ended, lacking clear temporal boundaries, and conditioned by epistemic uncertainty, which corresponds to Ulrich Beckʼs thesis on “risk society”.

It is substantiated that the mechanism of “biological citizenship” (Adriana Petryna), intended to ensure recognition and compensation for harm, simultaneously reproduces the victimization of those affected and is passed down to subsequent generations. Drawing on John Rawlsʼs principle of justice and Judith Shklarʼs concept of passive injustice, it is argued that the system of benefits and compensations constructed after the disaster is capable of reproducing the very injustice it was meant to eliminate. It is noted that the ethics of responsibility after Chornobyl requires recognizing the affected as subjects and bearers of dignity, regardless of their ability to prove their own suffering to bureaucratic institutions.

In conclusion, the author emphasizes that the Chernobyl disaster caused not only physical destruction, but also a much deeper and longer-lasting moral trauma. Therefore, Chernobyl remains today a marker indicating the limits of our ability to admit guilt, bear responsibility to our descendants, and care for the most vulnerable citizens.