Towards a Right Against Risking

Abstract:     
Morality forbids treating people in certain ways, and one way that it does so is through the recognition of rights. Rights form a part of every plausible moral theory, if not at a fundamental level, than at the practical level of application. Indeed, moral theories typically recognize a whole host of rights, like the rights to life and bodily integrity, and of free expression and free association, to name a few. These are uncontroversial, core rights. In this paper I explore a question at the boundary of rights, namely, whether morality also recognizes a right against risking, and if it does, what that right consists in. Do persons have a claim that others not treat them in certain risky ways?

Number of Pages in PDF File: 26

Keywords: risk, risking, rights, morality

working papers series