Lecturer in philosophy at Sorbonne-Paris IV University and president of the College of Philosophy, Pierre-Henri Tavoillot recently published “La Morale de cette histoire. Ethical guide for uncertain times ”(Ed. Michel Lafon, 2020, 237 p., € 12.90).
LE FIGARO.- The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was suspended in Austria and then in five other European countries, including Germany and France.
Isn't the precautionary principle wrongly invoked to manage risks associated with uncertainty?
Is a risk necessarily a threat?
Pierre-Henri TAVOILLOT.
- This sequence reveals once again the vague and harmful nature of the said precautionary principle.
Taken literally, it concerns poorly understood risks, the ignored consequences of which could be terrible and above all irreparable (art. 4 of the environmental charter).
But, in practice, it has become a hollow formula, of the type
"when in doubt, abstain"
, or even
"we must aim for zero risk!"
.
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