Environmental Risk Analysis: Robustness Is Essential for Precaution.

Precaution is a relevant and much-invoked value in environmental risk analysis, as witnessed by the ongoing vivid discussion about the precautionary principle (PP). This article argues (i) against purely decision-theoretic explications of PP; (ii) that the construction, evaluation, and use of scient...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Philosophy of Science Vol. 79; no. 5; pp. 881 - 893
Autor principal: Sprenger, Jan
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Cambridge University Press Dec2012
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Precaution is a relevant and much-invoked value in environmental risk analysis, as witnessed by the ongoing vivid discussion about the precautionary principle (PP). This article argues (i) against purely decision-theoretic explications of PP; (ii) that the construction, evaluation, and use of scientific models falls under the scope of PP; and (iii) that epistemic and decision-theoretic robustness are essential for precautionary policy making. These claims are elaborated and defended by means of case studies from climate science and conservation biology.