Analyzing Precautionary Regulation: Do Precaution, Science, and Innovation Go Together?

In this article we argue that the precautionary principle, as applied to the regulation of science and technology, cannot be considered in any general manner inconsistent with the norms and methods of scientific knowledge generation and justification. Moreover, it does not necessarily curtail scient...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Risk analysis 2014-12, Vol.34 (12), p.2163-2173
Main Authors: Todt, Oliver, Luján, José Luis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Biological and medical sciences
Control
Decision Making
Innovation
Innovations
Knowledge
Medical sciences
methodology
Norms
Policies
precautionary principle
Precautions
Production methods
Promotion
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Regulation
Risk
Risk analysis
Risk Assessment
Science
Science and technology
Science policy
Studies
Technological change
Technology
Technology policy
Technology Transfer
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Summary:In this article we argue that the precautionary principle, as applied to the regulation of science and technology, cannot be considered in any general manner inconsistent with the norms and methods of scientific knowledge generation and justification. Moreover, it does not necessarily curtail scientific‐technological innovation. Our argument flows from a differentiated view of what precaution in regulation means. We first characterize several of the most relevant interpretations given to the precautionary principle in academic debate and regulatory practice. We then use examples of actual precaution‐based regulation to show that, even though science can have varying functions in different circumstances and frames, all of those interpretations recur to scientific method and knowledge, and tend to imply innovation in methods, products, and processes. In fact, the interplay of regulation and innovation in precautionary policy, at least in the case of the interpretations of precaution that our analysis takes into account, could be understood as a way of reconciling the two fundamental science and technology policy functions of promotion and control.
ISSN:0272-4332
1539-6924
DOI:10.1111/risa.12246