Loneliness, which can be defined as the negative mental states (e.g. sadness, despair) that people experience when they feel that they do not have enough relationships, or not the right kinds of relationships (de Jong-Gierveld, 1987, p. 120), is a widespread phenomenon in many societies. For example, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys from Europe and North America reported that 20 to 35 percent of adults between the ages of 65 and 79 say that they are frequently lonely, a figure that rises to 40 to 50 percent among those aged 80 and above (Dykstra, 2009). These statistics are worrisome, as chronic loneliness has been found to contribute to e.g. depression; dementia; and
poor physical health (Cacioppo et al., 2010), with some medical experts arguing that its health effects can be compared to those of smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Novotney, 2019). In addition to this, loneliness takes a heavy economic toll. In the UK, for instance, it is estimated that ill health associated with chronic loneliness costs employers £2.5 billion every year (HM Government, 2018), whereas in the US, Medicare is estimated to spend annually approximately $134 more for each socially isolated older adult compared to an older adult who is not socially isolated (AARP Foundation, 2018).Yet, while the severity of these harms and economic costs makes loneliness prevention and alleviation a highly important topic to study as psychologists and sociologists have long realized, philosophers have paid relatively little attention to it. The aim of this project is to fill this lacuna. Through ethical analysis and reflection on relevant philosophical, psychological and sociological literatures, it will investigate what moral duties private individuals and societies more broadly (i.e. states) have to help protect people from loneliness and to help ensure that people can protect themselves from loneliness.