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Ethics, Decision Analysis, and Public Risk
Author(s) -
Keeney Ralph L.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
risk analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1539-6924
pISSN - 0272-4332
DOI - 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1984.tb00941.x
Subject(s) - utilitarianism , consequentialism , decision analysis , scrutiny , viewpoints , egalitarianism , risk analysis (engineering) , ethical decision , deontological ethics , management science , ethical theories , engineering ethics , political science , psychology , epistemology , economics , social psychology , business , law , engineering , art , philosophy , mathematical economics , visual arts , politics
In any analysis of a decision problem involving public risks, ethical implications are introduced. In some cases, these ethical implications may be introduced simply because an analysis is being done. Additional ethical implications may be inherently part of the methodology being utilized or introduced into the specific analysis of the decision problem. In this paper, we investigate where and how ethical implications enter when using the methodology of decision analysis to examine problems involving public risks. We conclude that the methodology of decision analysis is sufficiently robust to allow for numerous different ethical viewpoints to be accounted for in any specific analysis. Stated alternatively, decision analyses of public risks can be conducted in a manner consistent with utilitarianism, deontological theories, libertarianism, egalitarianism, and so forth. However, any specific analysis has embedded within it numerous ethical implications. This suggests that the careful ethical scrutiny of analyses involving the methodology of decision analysis should be placed on the specific application and not on the methodology per se or on the fact that an analysis is undertaken.