ozsw

Moral philosophy before the mid-Twentieth Century developed under the implicit assumption that outcomes could be treated as determinate. Risks and probabilities, when mentioned, were treated as a side issue. By contrast, our current understanding of agency and causation is probabilistic and foregrounds issues of uncertainty. In addition, there is significant attention to the disruption surrounding fast-paced societal and technological change. Moral philosophy, epistemology, and applied ethics have adapted to this understanding, but the philosophical issues are far from settled. This is an exciting area of philosophical and interdisciplinary research.

This course starts with some basic distinctions and key concepts within the philosophy of risk. It then considers the questions ethical risk acceptability, risk-impositions, and normative uncertainties. We include several specific domains where the concept of risk is important, such as the ethics of technology, bioethics, and environmental ethics. Which exact topics we cover depends on what guest lectures participate. The course also contains a professional development component about writing and publishing.

After taking the seminar, students will be familiar with the most important concepts, distinctions, and normative principles in the philosophical literature on risk, as well as their application in some of the key sub-domains of risk research. For example, students will be familiar with different definitions of risk and uncertainty, the precautionary principle, and how ethical theories can be adapted or expanded to deal with risk and uncertainty. They will be able to formulate good objections and replies to major philosophical viewpoints about risk.