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Document Details :

Title: Imposing Risks
Subtitle: A Morally Risky Affair
Author(s): KOVNER, Nimrod Z.
Journal: Ethical Perspectives
Volume: 25    Issue: 3   Date: 2018   
Pages: 517-537
DOI: 10.2143/EP.25.3.3285428

Abstract :
In this article, I argue that putting others at risk can establish morally corrupt relations between individuals. The argument follows and advances the writings in legal and moral philosophy that deal with cases of risk-imposition, specifically, the work on the moral significance of risk in normative thinking. However, understanding why imposing risk bears moral significance is crucial for answering related questions, such as what liability or redress means in the context of risk-imposition. Scholars have thus far focused on the impact of risk imposition on individuals’ mental state, resources, interests or autonomy. The article’s main contribution is its emphasis on the relational aspects of risk-imposition. I claim that putting others at higher risk may form a morally defective relation. I examine two such possibile defetvice relations: (i) domination, based on Pettit’s work on Republican freedom and (ii) exploitation, when an agent takes unfair advantage of another agent’s vulnerability.

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