Precautionary Principle, Pluralism and Deliberation

Bernard REBER, Senior Fellow in the Center National for the Scientific Research (CNRS), Sciences Po Paris, (Political Research Center).

• Preface  ixAcknowledgments xvIntroduction xviiPart 1. Pluralism between Ethics and Politics in the Context of Prevention 1Introduction to Part 1 3Chapter 1. Burdens of Judgment and Ethical Pluralism of Values  111.1. The “burdens of judgment” at the root of the “fact of reasonable pluralism” 131.2. Burdens of judgment: a critique 171.2.1. Burdens of judgment: a starting point, not an obstacle  171.2.2. The variable geometry of pluralisms  221.3. Ethical pluralism of values, from relativism to monism  261.4. Relativisms and commitments  321.4.1. Three types of relativism 321.4.2. Commitments in response to values 331.5. Opposing monism: conditionality, incompatibility and incommensurability of values 361.6. Conclusion: decompartmentalizing conflicts of values 38Chapter 2. Ethical Pluralism of Ethical Theories at the Heart of Evaluation  432.1. Ordinary morality, anti-theory and skepticism 442.2. What is an ethical theory? 472.3. Main ethical theories 502.4. Pluralism in practical reasoning 552.4.1. Formal practical reasoning  562.4.2. Substantial practical reasoning  582.5. Interactions between normative factors and foundational normative theories  602.6. Conclusion: conflicts and deliberation in the context of ethical theories 64Chapter 3. Deliberative Democracy Put to the Test of Ethical Pluralism 713.1. Participatory exposure 723.2. Rawls and Habermas: opposing views in support of deliberation 743.2.1. Rawls: restricted ethics  753.2.2. Habermas: reliance on undefined arguments  773.3. Deliberating in a democracy 803.4. Desperately seeking arguments…  853.5. Conclusion: pluralism of moral and political philosophers  88Conclusion to Part 1: Mapping the “Should-be” of the Public Sphere  95Part 2. Ethical and Political Pluralism in a Context of Precaution 105Introduction to Part 2 107Chapter 4. Deciding on, and in, Uncertainty Using the Precautionary Meta-principle 1134.1. Careless criticisms of the precautionary principle 1164.2. Precautionary principle: components and trigger factors  1224.3. To act, or not to act  1264.4. Clashing scenarios and “grammars” of the future  1294.5. Typology of political decisions in the context of uncertainty 1324.6. Conclusion: the deliberative as genre for uncertain futures  135Chapter 5. Between Sciences and Ethics: A New Quarrel of Faculties? 1435.1. Scientists between attachment and independence  1445.2. Politics of nature  1525.3. The prominent role of values in paradigm changes 1605.4. Relationships between scientific facts, epistemic values and ethical values  1625.5. Conclusion: a Republic of Letters dealing with facts and values  165Chapter 6. Co-argumentation in a Context of Disciplinary Pluralism 1736.1. Epistemic pluralism and competitive positions 1776.2. Tensions and cooperation due to pluralism internal and external to disciplines  1806.3. Types of argumentation and dialogue  1846.4. Co-dependence between ethical argumentation and scientific investigation 1916.5. Confrontation of hypotheses 1946.6. Conclusion: structuring of inter- and intra-disciplinary pluralisms thanks to the precautionary meta-principle 200Conclusion 207Bibliography 225Index 245