COVID-19 in the Perspective of Chaos Theory: The "New Normal" Discovered in the Order of Disorder

Abstract

This article is a descriptive assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of Chaos Theory in relation to the concept of the "new normal". Human history is a history of major crises such as epidemics and disasters that affect all societies differently, sometimes bringing revolutionary changes. Epidemics, one of these crises, are health events that bring major life and management changes. The last example was COVID-19, which locked down the entire world simultaneously and brought great uncertainty, unpredictability, and disorder in every aspect of life. It affected almost every aspect of life, especially health, education, working life, social relations, eating, drinking, vacation, and shopping. Due to its scope and speed of spread, COVID-19 took its place in history as a crisis period that caused chaos on a global scale. The pandemic process, which overturned the norms and routines we know and are accustomed to, forced the reconstruction of life around different norms, leading to the discovery of a new order and new norms within the disorder globally. Due to the human urge to survive, at the point where change is inevitable, the definition of normal has changed and new norms and new boundaries have been tried to be determined. This theoretical study, which aims to address what happened during the pandemic process, which is almost a global wake-up call of the transition to a new order by changing the order we live in, from the perspective of chaos theory, focuses on the concept of "new normal" as an effort to establish a new order in disorder. In the article, a descriptive evaluation of the process was made through what are the new normals that have become a part of life and how they are perceived in order to adapt to the pandemic and overcome the chaos experienced. The article discusses the function of discourses such as "Life Fits Home" and "Stay at Home" in the construction of new norms in terms of establishing a new order in disorder and bringing a new rhythm to the flow of daily life in order to accustom the society to the rapid and great change and to facilitate adaptation to the process. As a result, when the COVID-19 process is examined with the concepts of Chaos Theory, we will continue to experience as humanity what kind of order has not yet been comprehended and more complex in the unpredictability and disorder brought by the pandemic.