Risk and Responsibility
2013 (English)In: Essentials of Risk Theory / [ed] Sabine Roeser, Rafaela Hillerbrand, Per Sandin, Martin Peterson, Springer Nature , 2013, p. 107-143Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
When a risk materializes, it is common to ask the question: who is responsible for the risk being taken? Despite this intimate connection between risk and responsibility, remarkably little has been written on the exact relation between the notions of risk and responsibility. This contribution sets out to explore the relation between risk and responsibility on basis of the somewhat dispersed literature on the topic and it sketches directions for future research. It deals with three more specific topics. First we explore the conceptual connections between risk and responsibility by discussing different conceptions of risk and responsibility and their relationships. Second, we discuss responsibility for risk, paying attention to four more specific activities with respect to risks: risk reduction, risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication. Finally, we explore the problem of many hands (PMH), that is, the problem of attributing responsibility when large numbers of people are involved in an activity. We argue that the PMH has especially become prominent today due to the increased collective nature of actions and due to the fact that our actions often do not involve direct harm but rather risks, that is, the possibility of harm. We illustrate the PMH for climate change and discuss three possible ways of dealing with it: (1) responsibility-as-virtue, (2) a procedure for distributing responsibility, and (3) institutional design.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature , 2013. p. 107-143
Series
SpringerBriefs in Philosophy
Keywords [en]
Acceptable Risk, Collective Responsibility, Institutional Design, Moral Responsibility, Risk Communication
National Category
Philosophy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-303286DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-5455-3_5Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84920779657OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-303286DiVA, id: diva2:1602183
Note
Not duplicate with DiVA 503133
Part of book: ISBN 978-94-007-5454-6
QC 20211011
2021-10-112021-10-112022-06-25Bibliographically approved