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The Philosophical Basis of Cost-Risk-Benefit Analyses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

David A. Bantz
David A. Bantz*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801
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Extract

The Emperor Vespasian, presented with an invention to enable columns to be transported cheaply, praised the inventor but declined to make use of the innovation, apparently fearing the risk of upheaval from the displaced workers (Gimpel 1976, p. 9). Imbued as they are with the notions of progress and efficiency, few leaders in the modern world seem to have followed Vespasian's precedent and rejected the promise of technological innovations. Yet the sheer magnitude of the possible consequences of some technologies, and the multiplicity of choices made possible by competing technological solutions to this or that problem have fostered techniques for the appraisal of benefits and costs (including risks) in proposed courses of action. What information do these techniques give us, and what are the grounds for using them to guide decision making?

Type
Part V. Technology and Risk Assessment
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1982 , Issue 2: Volume Two: Symposia and Invited Papers 1982 , 1982 , pp. 226 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

1

John Braden, Clark Bullard and Gary Johnson provided comments on versions of this paper, for which I am grateful. The Center for Advanced Study and the Research Board of the University of Illinois provided partial support.

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