Risk and ethics: Learning from practitioners and public

摘要

The central question addressed in this paper is whether it is simply a matter that wernrisk experts are 'correct' and the engineering community and the public have to be educated tornunderstand or just accept our view? Or have experts and the public something to learn from eachrnother? The answer is inevitably based on a conception of scientific knowledge and its modern role.rnThe normal sharp distinction between fact and value rests on a series of dualisms which derivernfrom Descartes. It is argued that risk is not value free and that context is an important ingredient ofrnrisk. The training of risk experts needs to be widened to include specific consideration of valuesrnand ethics. There is a need for experts and non-experts to learn from each other about differentrnaspects of risk.