E-grāmata: Risk: A Study of Its Origins, History and Politics [World Scientific e-book]

This discourse about the nature of archetypal human risk perception and risk taking behavior examines the origins of the contemporary understanding of risk and constructs a chronological classification of cultural and intellectual trends within risk writing. The authors explore the development of probability theory from the Italian Renaissance to the present, revisit the decision analytical approaches to the social control of technology which emerged after 1945, skewer the failed attempts by mathematicians and think tanks to model international crises, and assess the contribution of power inequality theories to understanding risk. Annotation ©2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Over a period of several centuries, the academic study of risk has evolved as a distinct body of thought, which continues to influence conceptual developments in fields such as economics, management, politics and sociology. However, few scholarly works have given a chronological account of cultural and intellectual trends relating to the understanding and analysis of risks. Risk: A Study of its Origins, History and Politics aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed study of key turning points in the evolution of society's understanding of risk. Using a wide range of primary and secondary materials, Matthias Beck and Beth Kewell map the political origins and moral reach of some of the most influential ideas associated with risk and uncertainty at specific periods of time. The historical focus of the book makes it an excellent introduction for readers who wish to go beyond specific risk management techniques and their theoretical underpinnings, to gain an understanding of the history and politics of risk.