Our last meeting was well attended as usual. It centered around the topic of AIDS (Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome). Dr. Duane Davis made the presentation. He drew analogies between the present AIDS epidemic and some existentialist themes presented by Camus in his 1946 novel, The Plague>

AIDS is a ew epidemic disease which was first introduced into the human race about 20 years ago, supposedly passed from primates in Africa. Its introduction into the western hemisphere was atraced to a single African who served as a steward on some airline traveling betwwen Africa and Canada some years ago. With world travel and world commerce being markedly increased andmore rapid, one con easily see the increased danger ofall types of infections being quickly spread worldwide via people, plants, animals, and material goods. There are some very deadly viruses still affecting relatively small areas of the world such as the Ebola Virus and certain encephalitis viruses. TB is back!

Dr. Davis presented us with some unusual visual concepts (graphs, not usually found in philosophical discussions) showingthe increase in the number of cases of AIDs in the world. As of 1998, there supposedly were 688,200 cases of AIDS in children and adults. There had been 410,000 deaths up to that time. One of the most important facts to keep in mind is that AIDS is defined as a 'symptomatic disease". This means that it refers only to prople who have HIV infrction and syptoms caused by it. The statistics do not reveal how many people are acutallyinfected with the HIV virus which number in the millions.

In some African cities, up to 50% of the people are infected. Many of these infrcted people worldwide do not yetknow that they harbor the virus and are now infective and passing it on to others through sexual interaction.

Dr. Davis culled out four existentialist themes running through the novel. They were 1) Exile 2) Suffering 3) Death and 4) Hope. Exile raised the concepts of homelessness and alienation. Suffering dealt with the ideas of despair. Death is a unifying theme which binds us in common, reducing us to equality. Hope deals with the ideas of love and care. Hope motivates us to action together to preserve lives. We must act and do what we can to help. One of the important ideas presented by Dr. Davis was that we all do, infact, suffer from AIDS. AIDS is among us. We are all affected by it, some only by the concept which we must keep in mind (a metaphysical infection of the mind), some by concern, some by personal relations with those infected etc.

One point raised by a member of the audience which was not adequately discussed was that AIDS has become politicized. It isnot being treated as a purely medical disease. THis is a very dangerous precedent. Many will die because of it.

Some implications of AIDS were also discussed. Is AIDS a plague? AIDS is predominantly a veneral disease. Some are infected through blood transfusions or infected needles. Because AIDS has largely affected homosexuals, prostitutes, drug users and sexually indiscriminate persons, its moral and religious implications have been raised. Is this ascourge form God, as Father Panaloux of the novel had suggested? Yet recriminations and vilifications are non-productive. Remaining intellectual and practical, statistics reveal patterns that can produce results. Hope lies in preserving the meaningfulness of life, but not life for its own sake!