TY - JOUR PY - 2011// TI - On the ontological status of the concept of risk JO - Safety science A1 - Aven, Terje A1 - Renn, Ortwin A1 - Rosa, Eugene A. SP - 1074 EP - 1079 VL - 49 IS - 8-9 N2 - In this paper we review a set of frequently used risk definitions and analyze their ontological status, i.e. to what extent risk exists in itself independent of any specific assessor. According to some prevailing risk perspectives in the social sciences, risk exists as objective states of the world, but for other common risk perspectives the status of risk is not as clear, for example if risk is viewed as uncertainty about and severity of the consequences of an activity with respect to something that humans value. The principal aim of this paper is to contribute to a clarification of the issue in order to strengthen the foundations of the meaning of risk.

LA - en SN - 0925-7535 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2011.04.015 ID - ref1 ER -