Résumés
Résumé
Le statut du risque se révèle intrinsèquement ambigu, tant au niveau ontologique qu'au niveau épistémologique. L’objectif de cette contribution consiste à le clarifier, à travers une analyse des diverses conceptions du risque véhiculées par la littérature. Plus précisément, l’examen des conceptions réalistes et représentationnelles du risque conduit à privilégier ces dernières. Nous montrons que les différentes conceptions représentationnelles – quantitative et constructiviste – gagnent à être envisagées dans leur complémentarité. Pour en rendre compte, nous proposons l’adoption d’une définition multidimensionnelle du risque fondée sur deux composantes, l’une quantitative, l’autre qualitative. Cette définition du risque est ouverte et contextuelle, capable de prendre en compte la complexité et la spécificité de chaque type de risque dans le contexte où il se développe. L’intérêt d’une telle définition réside dans la réhabilitation des valeurs et des critères qualitatifs dans un cadre d’analyse plus global, qui rend justice au pluralisme social, dont une gestion éthique du risque ne peut plus faire l’économie.
Mots-clés :
- conception réaliste du risque,
- conception représentationnelle du risque,
- danger,
- définition du risque,
- gestion des risques,
- perception des risques,
- statut du risque,
- risque,
- valeurs
Abstract
The status of risk is intrinsically ambiguous and difficult to grasp both ontologically and epistemologically. The purpose of this paper is to clarify it through an analysis of the various conceptions of risk found in the literature. More precisely, the study of the realistic and the representational conceptions of risk leads to favour the representational ones. We show that the different representational conceptions – quantitative and constructivist – should be conceived as being complementary. We translate this complementarity by supporting a multidimensional definition of risk based on a quantitative component as well as on a qualitative one. This definition is open and contextual, in order to take into account the complexity and the specificity of each kind of risk in its context. Such a definition is helpful insofar as it restores the role of values and of qualitative criteria in a more global framework, which takes social pluralism into account and thereby helps ensuring an ethical risk management.
Keywords:
- definition of risk,
- hazard,
- realistic conception of risk,
- representational conception of risk,
- risk,
- risk management,
- risk perception,
- status of risk,
- values
Parties annexes
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