New Directions for the Precautionary Principle: Introduction

摘要

The Precautionary Principle is a highly influential feature of an extensive body of environmental law, and is also highly controversial and continues to generate scholarly debates along several dimensions. As such, the Precautionary Principle is of central importance in philosophical discussions of ethics and environmental policy. The nominal aim of the Precautionary Principle is to promote timely and reasonable responses to serious threats to health and the environment even in the face of substantial scientific uncertainty. As such, it raises fundamental questions relating to morality, rational decision, and philosophy of science.