Acceptable Evidence Science and Values in Risk Management

Discussions of science and values in risk management have largely focussedon how values enter into arguments about risks, that is, issues of acceptablerisk. Instead this volume concentrates on how values enter into collecting,interpreting, communicating, and evaluating the evidence of risks, that is,issues of the acceptability of evidence of risk. By focusing on acceptableevidence, this volume avoids two barriers to progress. One barrier assumes thatevidence of risk is largely a matter of objective scientific data and thereforeuncontroversial. The other assumes that evidence of risk, being "just" a matterof values, is not amenable to reasoned critique. Denying both extremes, thisvolume argues for a more constructive conclusion: understanding theinterrelations of scientific and value issues enables a critical scrutiny ofrisk assessments and better public deliberation about social choices. Thecontributors, distinguished philosophers, policy analysts, and natural andsocial scientists, analyze environmental and medical controversies, andassumptions underlying views about risk assessment and the scientific andstatistical models used in risk management.