Risk: Philosophical Perspectives Philosophical Perspectives

How can we determine an acceptable level of risk? Should these decisions be made by experts, or by the people they affect? How should safety and security be balanced against other goods, such as liberty? This is the first collection to examine the philosophical dimensions of these pressing practical problems. Leading scholars exploring the full range of philosophical implications of risk, including: risk and ethics risk and rationality risk and scientific expertise risk and lay knowledge the objectivity of risk assessment risk and the precautionary principle risk and terror. With contributions fromCarl F. Cranor, Sven Ove Hansson, Martin Kusch, Tim Lewens, D.H. Mellor, Adam Morton, Stephen Perry, Martin Peterson, Alan Ryan, Per Sandin, Cass R. Sunstein and Jonathan Wolff; this collection is essential reading, not only for philosophers and researchers in legal, economic and environmental studies, but for those seeking to gain a better understanding of the decisions we must make as concerned citizens.

Introduction: Risk and Philosophy Tim Lewens 1.Risk and Ethics: Three Approaches Sven Ove Hansson 2. Towards a Non-Consequentialist Approach to Acceptable Risks Carl Cranor 3. What is the Value of Preventing a Fatality? Jonathan Wolff 4. On Multi-Attribute Risk Analysis Martin Peterson 5. Great Expectations Adam Morton 6. Common Sense Precaution and Varieties of the Precautionary PrinciplePer Sandin 7. Acting Under Risk D.H. Mellor 8. Towards a Political Philosophy of Risk: Experts and Publics in Deliberative Democracy Martin Kusch 9. Moral Heuristics and Risk Cass Sunstein10. Risk and Terrorism Alan Ryan 11. Risk, Harm, Interests, and Rights Stephen Perry Index

Tim Lewens is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Organisms and Artifacts (2004) and Darwin (Routledge, 2006).