![]() In the strictest sense, the proper reference for the inquiry should be ‘risky decision taking’ or ‘risky decision making’ rather than ‘risk management’. A major purpose of this investigation is to call into question this built-in bias toward risk. This bias toward risk is assumed in the acceptance of the use of the phrase ‘risk management’. ![]() The phrase implies that the taking of risk is either necessary and/or advantageous and if it carries any negative consequences, these consequences can be mitigated or eliminated by proper management. ![]() It should be pointed out, at the outset, that the phrase ‘risk management’ is already biased in favor of risk. For the most part, the discussion will refer to the primary sense of the term and only occasionally in special contexts, to the second. Secondarily, it will refer to the taking of risk with the possessions, e.g., the wealth of human beings. The phrase ‘risk management’ will refer primarily to the risk of life and limb of human beings, present and future and to the life and health of the planet. The argument of the chapter is that by heightening the ethical sensitivity of decision makers, these decision makers will be less likely to make decisions that will cause harm and/or death to those who are the principal actors in the situation created by the decision. By changing the semantics of ‘risk management’ to ‘risk taking’ or ‘risky decision making’, the ethics of responsibility for risking other people’s lives will come into focus. The risk that exists in the objective situation simply needs to be “managed”. The concept of risk management implies that risk is already there, not created by the decision, but lies already inherent in the situation that the decision sets into motion. Risky decision making takes place whenever and wherever decisions are taken by those whose lives are not immediately threatened by the situation in which the risk to other people’s lives is created by their decision. The argument will take the form that the use of the phrase ‘risk management’ operates to cover over the ethical dimensions of what is at the bottom of the problem, namely, risky decision making. In this chapter, we will argue that the very concept of risk management must be called into question. The case for risk taking or risky decision making
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