Misplaced Pages

#953046

106-404: In an engineering context, the precautionary principle manifests itself as the factor of safety , discussed in detail in the monograph of Elishakoff . It was apparently suggested, in civil engineering, by Belidor in 1729. Interrelation between safety factor and reliability is extensively studied by engineers and philosophers. The principle is often used by policy makers in situations where there

212-393: A consumer as "prudent" if he or she saves more when faced with riskier future income. This additional saving is called precautionary saving . If a risk-averse consumer has a utility function u ( x ) {\displaystyle u(x)} over consumption x {\displaystyle x} , and if u ( x ) {\displaystyle u(x)}

318-587: A factor of safety ( FoS ) or safety factor ( SF ) expresses how much stronger a system is than it needs to be for an intended load. Safety factors are often calculated using detailed analysis because comprehensive testing is impractical on many projects, such as bridges and buildings, but the structure's ability to carry a load must be determined to a reasonable accuracy. Many systems are intentionally built much stronger than needed for normal usage to allow for emergency situations, unexpected loads, misuse, or degradation ( reliability ). Margin of safety ( MoS or MS )

424-473: A principle of law is a source of law. This means that it is compulsory, so a court can quash or confirm a decision through the application of the precautionary principle. In this sense, the precautionary principle is not a simple idea or a desideratum but a source of law. This is the legal status of the precautionary principle in the European Union. On the other hand, an 'approach' usually does not have

530-453: A test pilot ). In the case of technological innovation, containment of impact tends to be more difficult if that technology can self-replicate. Bill Joy emphasised the dangers of replicating genetic technology, nanotechnology, and robotic technology in his article in Wired , " Why the future doesn't need us ", though he does not specifically cite the precautionary principle. The application of

636-455: A " risk -neutral" society to favour current decisions that allow for more flexibility in the future. Gollier et al. conclude that "more scientific uncertainty as to the distribution of a future risk – that is, a larger variability of beliefs – should induce society to take stronger prevention measures today." The principle was also derived from religious beliefs that particular areas of science and technology should be restricted as they "belong to

742-587: A "general principle of EU law". In Case T-74/00 Artegodan , the General Court (then Court of First Instance) appeared willing to extrapolate from the limited provision for the precautionary principle in environmental policy in article 191(2) TFEU to a general principle of EU law. In France, the Charter for the Environment contains a formulation of the precautionary principle (article 5): When

848-450: A "prudential judgment" is one where the circumstances must be weighed to determine the correct action. This applies to situations in which two people could weigh the circumstances differently and ethically come to different conclusions. For instance, in the theory of just war , the government of a nation must weigh whether the harms they suffer are more than the harms that would be produced by their going to war against another nation that

954-515: A British audience, which he translated into English as the precautionary principle. In economics, the Precautionary Principle has been analyzed in terms of "the effect on rational decision-making", of "the interaction of irreversibility " and " uncertainty ". Authors such as Epstein (1980) and Arrow and Fischer (1974) show that "irreversibility of possible future consequences" creates a "quasi- option effect" which should induce

1060-458: A component to meet a lower than normal safety factor, often referred to as "waiving" the requirement. Doing this often brings with it extra detailed analysis or quality control verifications to assure the part will perform as desired, as it will be loaded closer to its limits. For loading that is cyclical, repetitive, or fluctuating, it is important to consider the possibility of metal fatigue when choosing factor of safety. A cyclic load well below

1166-519: A design factor of two. Risk analysis , failure mode and effects analysis , and other tools are commonly used. Design factors for specific applications are often mandated by law, policy, or industry standards. Buildings commonly use a factor of safety of 2.0 for each structural member. The value for buildings is relatively low because the loads are well understood and most structures are redundant . Pressure vessels use 3.5 to 4.0, automobiles use 3.0, and aircraft and spacecraft use 1.2 to 4.0 depending on

SECTION 10

#1732780270954

1272-401: A factor of safety does not imply that an item, structure, or design is "safe". Many quality assurance , engineering design , manufacturing , installation, and end-use factors may influence whether or not something is safe in any particular situation. The difference between the safety factor and design factor (design safety factor) is as follows: The safety factor, or yield stress, is how much

1378-468: A given time and place. Although prudence itself does not perform any actions, and is concerned solely with knowledge, all virtues are regulated by it. For example, distinguishing when acts are courageous , as opposed to reckless or cowardly , is an act of prudence. In modern English, the word "prudence" has become closely associated with cautiousness. In this sense, prudence is a virtue that involves taking calculated risks, but excessive caution can become

1484-562: A material's yield strength can cause failure if it is repeated through enough cycles. According to Elishakoff the notion of factor of safety in engineering context was apparently first introduced in 1729 by Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1698-1761) who was a French engineer working in hydraulics, mathematics, civil, and military engineering. The philosophical aspects of factors of safety were pursued by Doorn and Hansson. Prudence Prudence ( Latin : prudentia , contracted from providentia meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity")

1590-583: A meeting of environmentalists in 1998, is another example of the strong version. Strong precaution can also be termed as a "no-regrets" principle, where costs are not considered in preventative action. Weak precaution holds that lack of scientific evidence does not preclude action if damage would otherwise be serious and irreversible. Humans practice weak precaution every day, and often incur costs, to avoid hazards that are far from certain: we do not walk in moderately dangerous areas at night, we exercise, we buy smoke detectors, we buckle our seatbelts. According to

1696-624: A particular culture, prudence cannot be derived from a set of timeless principles. Instead, through gauging the situation and through reasoned deliberation, a speaker should determine the set of values and morals by which to base his or her actions. The capacity to take into account the particularities of the situation is vital to prudential practice. For example, as rhetorical scholar Lois Self explains, "both rhetoric and phronesis are normative processes in that they involve rational principles of choice-making; both have general applicability but always require careful analysis of particulars in determining

1802-571: A proposed change. This approach becomes important when examining designs with large or undefined (historical) margins and those that depend on "soft" controls such as programmatic limits or requirements. The commercial U.S. nuclear industry utilized a similar concept in evaluating planned changes until 2001, when 10 CFR 50.59 was revised to capture and apply the information available in facility-specific risk analyses and other quantitative risk management tools. A measure of strength frequently used in Europe

1908-567: A publication by the New Zealand Treasury Department: The weak version [of the Precautionary Principle] is the least restrictive and allows preventive measures to be taken in the face of uncertainty, but does not require them (e.g., Rio Declaration 1992; United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change 1992). To satisfy the threshold of harm, there must be some evidence relating to both

2014-422: A reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation." As Garcia (1995) pointed out, "the wording, largely similar to that of the principle, is subtly different in that: it recognizes that there may be differences in local capabilities to apply the approach, and it calls for cost-effectiveness in applying the approach, e.g., taking economic and social costs into account." The "approach"

2120-462: A remote chance of irreparable damage to the ecology, then you shouldn't do it, no matter how great the possible advantages of the action may be. You are not allowed to balance costs against benefits when deciding what to do. As noted by Rupert and O'Riordan, the challenge in application of the principle is "in making it clear that absence of certainty, or there being insufficient evidence-based analysis, were not impediments to innovation, so long as there

2226-495: A specific result. In his study of Machiavelli , examining the relationship between prudence and moderation, rhetorician Eugene Garver holds that there is a middle ground between "an ethics of principles, in which those principles univocally dictate action" and "an ethics of consequences, in which the successful result is all". His premise stems from Aristotle's theory of virtue as an "intermediate" , in which moderation and compromise embody prudence. Yet, because elevating moderation

SECTION 20

#1732780270954

2332-496: A vice of cowardice. In the Nicomachean Ethics , Aristotle gives a lengthy account of the virtue phronesis ( Ancient Greek : ϕρόνησις )—traditionally translated as "prudence", although this has become problematic as the modern usage of that word has changed. More recently Ancient Greek : ϕρόνησις has been translated by such terms as " practical wisdom ", "practical judgment", or "rational choice". Prudence

2438-571: Is differentiable , then the consumer is not prudent unless the third derivative of utility is positive, that is, u ‴ ( x ) > 0 {\displaystyle u'''\left(x\right)>0} . The strength of the precautionary saving motive can be measured by absolute prudence , which is defined as − u ‴ ( x ) u ″ ( x ) {\displaystyle -{\frac {u'''\left(x\right)}{u''\left(x\right)}}} . Similarly, relative prudence

2544-406: Is 1.5, but for pressurized fuselage it is 2.0, and for main landing gear structures it is often 1.25. In some cases it is impractical or impossible for a part to meet the "standard" design factor. The penalties (mass or otherwise) for meeting the requirement would prevent the system from being viable (such as in the case of aircraft or spacecraft). In these cases, it is sometimes determined to allow

2650-425: Is a related measure, expressed as a relative change . There are two definitions for the factor of safety (FoS): The realized factor of safety must be greater than the required design factor of safety. However, between various industries and engineering groups usage is inconsistent and confusing; there are several definitions used. The cause of much confusion is that various reference books and standards agencies use

2756-449: Is defined as absolute prudence, multiplied by the level of consumption. These measures are closely related to the concepts of absolute and relative risk aversion developed by Kenneth Arrow and John W. Pratt . In accounting, prudence was historically regarded as a fundamental principle for determining the appropriate timing of revenue recognition . The rule of prudence means that gains should not be anticipated unless their realisation

2862-426: Is different from cunning in that it takes into account the supernatural good. For instance, the decision of persecuted Christians to be martyred rather than deny their faith is considered prudent. According to Thomas Aquinas , judgments that take a reasonable form, but are aimed at evil ends or that use evil means, are considered to be examples of "cunning" and "false prudence". The Ancient Greek term for prudence

2968-469: Is generally considered a softening of the "principle": As Recuerda has noted, the distinction between the precautionary principle and a precautionary approach is diffuse and, in some contexts, controversial. In the negotiations of international declarations, the United States has opposed the use of the term principle because this term has special connotations in legal language, due to the fact that

3074-733: Is generally considered to have arisen in English from a translation of the German term Vorsorgeprinzip in the 1970s in response to forest degradation and sea pollution , where German lawmakers adopted clean air act banning use of certain substances suspected in causing the environmental damage even though evidence of their impact was inconclusive at that time. The concept was introduced into environmental legislation along with other innovative (at that time) mechanisms such as "polluter pays", principle of pollution prevention and responsibility for survival of future ecosystems. The precautionary principle

3180-413: Is harming them; the decision whether to go to war is therefore a prudential judgment. As another example, a patient with a terminal illness may hear of an experimental treatment with no conventional alternatives. They would have to weigh, on the one hand, the cost, time commitment, potential lack of benefit, and possible pain, disability, and hastened death, and on the other hand, the potential benefit and

3286-573: Is limited". Various interests being represented by various groups proposing the principle resulted in great variability of its formulation: one study identified 14 different formulations of the principle in treaties and non-treaty declarations. R.B. Stewart (2002) reduced the precautionary principle to four basic versions: Carolyn Raffensperger of the Wingspread convention placed the principle in opposition to approaches based on risk management and cost-benefit analysis . Dave Brower ( Friends of

Precautionary principle - Misplaced Pages Continue

3392-506: Is made of assignment of liability for environmental harm. Strong versions justify or require precautionary measures and some also establish liability for environmental harm, which is effectively a strong form of "polluter pays". For example, the Earth Charter states: "When knowledge is limited apply a precautionary approach ... Place the burden of proof on those who argue that a proposed activity will not cause significant harm, and make

3498-580: Is much wider, and specifically where preliminary-objective-scientific-evaluation indicates that there are reasonable grounds for concern that potentially dangerous effects on the environment, human, animal or [and] plant health may be inconsistent with the high level of protection [for what] chosen for the Community." The January 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety says, in regard to controversies over GMOs : "Lack of scientific certainty due to insufficient relevant scientific information ... shall not prevent

3604-405: Is negative the part will fail before reaching its design load in service. If the margin is 1, it can withstand one additional load of equal force to the maximum load it was designed to support (i.e. twice the design load). M.S. as a measure of requirement verification: Many agencies and organizations such as NASA and AIAA define the margin of safety including the design factor, in other words,

3710-426: Is not an active response, prudence entails the "transformation of moderation" into a fitting response, making it a flexible situational norm. Garver also asserts that prudential reasoning differs from "algorithmic" and " heuristic " reasoning because it is rooted in a political community, the context in which common problems regarding stability and innovation arise and call for prudential reasoning. Economists describe

3816-415: Is not the risk that must be avoided or amended, but a potential risk that must be prevented. Thus, in the case of regulation of scientific research, there is a third party beyond the scientist and the regulator: the consumer. In an analysis concerning application of the precautionary principle to nanotechnology , Chris Phoenix and Mike Treder posit that there are two forms of the principle, which they call

3922-452: Is perceived by those who experience it. So, for example, one might evaluate the speech based on how persuasive it was, how emotionally moving it was, or how well it captured the audience's attention. Thus, while Gadamer judges prudence based on a set of principles, Jasinski emphasizes the artistry of communication and its reception by its audience. For Jasinski, communication should balance compromise and courage , rather than merely achieving

4028-566: Is required whenever there is a possible risk to health, safety, or the environment, even if the supporting evidence is speculative and even if the economic costs of regulation are high. In 1982, the United Nations World Charter for Nature gave the first international recognition to the strong version of the principle, suggesting that when "potential adverse effects are not fully understood, the activities should not proceed". The widely publicised Wingspread Declaration, from

4134-407: Is sometimes, but infrequently, used as a percentage, i.e., a 0.50 M.S is equivalent to a 50% M.S. When a design satisfies this test it is said to have a "positive margin", and, conversely, a "negative margin" when it does not. In the field of nuclear safety (as implemented at U.S. government-owned facilities) the margin of safety has been defined as a quantity that may not be reduced without review by

4240-606: Is synonymous with "forethought". People, the Ancient Greeks believed, must have enough prudence to prepare for worshiping the Olympian gods. Prudence is the application of universal principles to particular situations. "Integral parts" of virtues, in Scholastic philosophy , are the elements that must be present for any complete or perfect act of the virtue. The following are the integral parts of prudence: In ethics,

4346-435: Is the reserve factor (RF). With the strength and applied loads expressed in the same units, the reserve factor is defined in one of two ways, depending on the industry: The applied loads have many factors, including factors of safety applied. For ductile materials (e.g. most metals), it is often required that the factor of safety be checked against both yield and ultimate strengths. The yield calculation will determine

Precautionary principle - Misplaced Pages Continue

4452-419: Is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason . It is classically considered to be a virtue , and in particular one of the four cardinal virtues (which are, with the three theological virtues , part of the seven virtues ). Prudentia is an allegorical female personification of the virtue, whose attributes are a mirror and snake, and who is frequently depicted as a pair with Justitia ,

4558-425: Is the greatest good. Thus it is more valuable than philosophy and is the source of every other excellence." Prudence is foundational to virtues, which are understood to be perfected abilities of the human spirit. This perfection is achieved when virtues are founded on prudence, or the ability to make the right decisions. For instance, a person can live temperately when he has acquired the habit of deciding correctly

4664-446: Is the possibility of harm from making a certain decision (e.g. taking a particular course of action) and conclusive evidence is not yet available. For example, a government may decide to limit or restrict the widespread release of a medicine or new technology until it has been thoroughly tested. The principle acknowledges that while the progress of science and technology has often brought great benefit to humanity, it has also contributed to

4770-466: Is to consider the circumstances of time, place, and manner that are relevant in any given situation, known as medium rationis in the Scholastic tradition. So while it qualifies the intellect and not the will, it is nevertheless a moral virtue. Prudence provides a model of ethically good actions. "The work of art is true and real by its correspondence with the pattern of its prototype in the mind of

4876-527: The Lisbon Treaty states that: Union policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union. It shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay. After

4982-585: The Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle was convened by the Science and Environmental Health Network and concluded with the following formulation, described by Stewart Brand as "the clearest and most frequently cited": When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. In this context

5088-556: The "strict form" and the "active form". The former "requires inaction when action might pose a risk", while the latter means "choosing less risky alternatives when they are available, and [...] taking responsibility for potential risks." Thomas Alured Faunce has argued for stronger application of the precautionary principle by chemical and health technology regulators particularly in relation to Ti0 2 and ZnO nanoparticles in sunscreens , biocidal nanosilver in waterways and products whose manufacture, handling or recycling exposes humans to

5194-495: The Earth ) concluded that "all technology should be assumed guilty until proven innocent". Freeman Dyson described the application of precautionary principle as "deliberately one-sided", for example when used as justification to destroy genetic engineering research plantations and threaten researchers in spite of scientific evidence demonstrating lack of harm: The Precautionary Principle says that if some course of action carries even

5300-665: The Party of [I]mport, in order to avoid or minimize such potential adverse effects, from taking a decision, as appropriate, with regard to the import of the living modified organism in question." Pope Francis makes reference to the principle and the Rio Declaration in his 2015 encyclical letter , Laudato si' , noting that alongside its environmental significance, the precautionary principle "makes it possible to protect those who are most vulnerable and whose ability to defend their interests and to assemble incontrovertible evidence

5406-514: The Roman goddess of Justice. The word derives from the 14th-century Old French word prudence , which, in turn, derives from the Latin prudentia meaning "foresight, sagacity". It is often associated with wisdom , insight , and knowledge . The virtue of prudence is the ability to judge between virtuous and vicious actions, not only in a general sense, but with regard to appropriate actions at

SECTION 50

#1732780270954

5512-498: The ability to deliberate about contingent, variable, or indeterminate matters. Cicero defined prudentia as a rhetorical norm in De Oratore , De officiis , De Inventione , and De re publica . He contrasts the term with imprudens , young men failing to consider the consequences before they act. The prudens , or those who had prudence, knew when to speak and when to stay silent. Cicero maintained that prudence

5618-575: The actions to take in response to his instinctual cravings. Prudence provides guidance on the appropriate course of action in specific situations. It does not will the good that it discerns. Prudence has a directive capacity with regard to the other virtues. It lights the way and measures the arena for their exercise. Without prudence, bravery becomes foolhardiness, mercy sinks into weakness, free self-expression and kindness into censure, humility into degradation and arrogance, selflessness into corruption, and temperance into fanaticism. The purpose of prudence

5724-404: The actual item that was designed. By this definition, a structure with an FOS of exactly 1 will support only the design load and no more. Any additional load will cause the structure to fail. A structure with an FOS of 2 will fail at twice the design load. Many government agencies and industries (such as aerospace) require the use of a margin of safety ( MoS or M.S. ) to describe the ratio of

5830-530: The adoption of the European Commission's communication on the precautionary principle, the principle has come to inform much EU policy, including areas beyond environmental policy . As of 2006 it had been integrated into EU laws "in matters such as general product safety, the use of additives for use in animal nutrition, the incineration of waste, and the regulation of genetically modified organisms". Through its application in case law , it has become

5936-457: The appellate court to stop the planting of Bt eggplant in test fields, saying the impacts of such an undertaking to the environment, native crops and human health are still unknown. The Court of Appeals granted the petition, citing the precautionary principle stating "when human activities may lead to threats of serious and irreversible damage to the environment that is scientifically plausible but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish

6042-586: The application and materials. Ductile, metallic materials tend to use the lower value while brittle materials use the higher values. The field of aerospace engineering uses generally lower design factors because the costs associated with structural weight are high (i.e. an aircraft with an overall safety factor of 5 would probably be too heavy to get off the ground). This low design factor is why aerospace parts and materials are subject to very stringent quality control and strict preventative maintenance schedules to help ensure reliability. A usually applied Safety Factor

6148-518: The application of the principle... decisions should be guided by: (i) careful evaluation to avoid, wherever practicable, serious or irreversible damage to the environment; and (ii) an assessment of risk-weighted consequence of various options". The most significant points of Justice Preston's decision are the following findings: A petition filed 17 May 2013 by environmental group Greenpeace Southeast Asia and farmer-scientist coalition Masipag ( Magsasaka at Siyentipiko sa Pagpapaunlad ng Agrikultura ) asked

6254-432: The artist. In similar fashion, the free activity of man is good by its correspondence with the pattern of prudence." ( Josef Pieper ) According to Greek and Scholastic philosophy, 'form' is the unique characteristic of a thing that makes it what it is. In this sense, prudence gives other virtues their specific character as virtues, by providing a standard against which they can be judged. For example, not all acts of telling

6360-412: The benefits to others that could be gained from what could be learned from their case. Phronesis , or practical wisdom, holds an important place in rhetorical theory as a central aspect of judgment and practice. Aristotle's notion of phronesis fits with his treatise on rhetoric because neither, in his estimation, could be reduced to an episteme or a techne , and both deal with

6466-478: The best response to each specific situation; both ideally take into account the wholeness of human nature; and finally, both have social utility and responsibility in that both treat matter of the public good". Robert Hariman , in his examination of Malcolm X , adds that "aesthetic sensibility, imitation of a performative ideal, and improvisation upon conventions of presentation" are also components of practical reasoning. Rhetorical scholars differ on definitions of

SECTION 60

#1732780270954

6572-622: The controlling government office. The U.S. Department of Energy publishes DOE G 424.1-1, "Implementation Guide for Use in Addressing Unreviewed Safety Question Requirements" as a guide for determining how to identify and determine whether a margin of safety will be reduced by a proposed change. The guide develops and applies the concept of a qualitative margin of safety that may not be explicit or quantifiable, yet can be evaluated conceptually to determine whether an increase or decrease will occur with

6678-461: The creation of new threats and risks. It implies that there is a social responsibility to protect the public from exposure to such harm, when scientific investigation has found a plausible risk. These protections should be relaxed only if further scientific findings emerge that provide sound evidence that no harm will result. The principle has become an underlying rationale for a large and increasing number of international treaties and declarations in

6784-600: The decision of the Court of Appeals which stopped the field trials for the genetically modified eggplant. The court is the first in the world to adopt the precautionary principle regarding GMO products in its decision. The Supreme Court decision was later reversed following an appeal by researchers at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Body Shop International , a UK-based cosmetics company, included

6890-422: The decision rule states that once the aforementioned low evidential bar is met, then we should act in a precautionary way. Birch's proposal also "deliberately leaves open the question of how, and to what extent, the treatment of these animals should be regulated", thus also leaving open the content of the regulations, as this will largely depend on the animal in question. Factor of safety In engineering,

6996-425: The design passes or not. This is helpful for oversight and reviewing on projects with various integrated components, as different components may have various design factors involved and the margin calculation helps prevent confusion. For a successful design, the realized safety factor must always equal or exceed the design safety factor so that the margin of safety is greater than or equal to zero. The margin of safety

7102-424: The designed part actually will be able to withstand (first usage from above). The design factor, or working stress, is what the item is required to be able to withstand (second usage). The design factor is defined for an application (generally provided in advance and often set by regulatory building codes or policy) and is not an actual calculation, the safety factor is a ratio of maximum strength to intended load for

7208-421: The effects of your action are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life" or, stated conversely, "Do not compromise the conditions for an indefinite continuation of humanity on earth." To achieve this Jonas argued for the cultivation of a cautious attitude toward actions that may endanger the future of humanity or the biosphere that supported it. In 1988, Konrad von Moltke described the German concept for

7314-401: The evidence that certain animals are sentient sufficient whenever "statistically significant evidence ... of the presence of at least one credible indicator of sentience in at least one species of that order" has been obtained. For practical reasons, Birch says, the evidence of sentience should concern the order , so that if one species meets the conditions of sentience, then all the species of

7420-430: The extreme, such a requirement could involve bans and prohibitions on entire classes of potentially threatening activities or substances (Cooney, 2005). Over time, there has been a gradual transformation of the precautionary principle from what appears in the Rio Declaration to a stronger form that arguably [by whom] acts as restraint on development in the absence of firm evidence that it will do no harm. No introduction to

7526-469: The factor of safety definitions and terms differently. Building codes , structural and mechanical engineering textbooks often refer to the "factor of safety" as the fraction of total structural capability over what is needed. Those are realized factors of safety (first use). Many undergraduate strength of materials books use "Factor of Safety" as a constant value intended as a minimum target for design (second use). There are several ways to compare

7632-436: The factor of safety for structures. All the different calculations fundamentally measure the same thing: how much extra load beyond what is intended a structure will actually take (or be required to withstand). The difference between the methods is the way in which the values are calculated and compared. Safety factor values can be thought of as a standardized way for comparing strength and reliability between systems. The use of

7738-433: The fields of sustainable development, environmental protection, health, trade, and food safety, although at times it has attracted debate over how to accurately define it and apply it to complex scenarios with multiple risks. In some legal systems, as in law of the European Union , the application of the precautionary principle has been made a statutory requirement in some areas of law. The concept "precautionary principle"

7844-460: The imposed loads , strength, wear estimates, and the environmental effects to which the product will be exposed in service; the consequences of engineering failure; and the cost of over-engineering the component to achieve that factor of safety . For example, components whose failure could result in substantial financial loss, serious injury, or death may use a safety factor of four or higher (often ten). Non-critical components generally might have

7950-509: The likelihood of occurrence and the severity of consequences. Some, but not all, require consideration of the costs of precautionary measures. Weak formulations do not preclude weighing benefits against the costs. Factors other than scientific uncertainty, including economic considerations, may provide legitimate grounds for postponing action. Under weak formulations, the requirement to justify the need for action (the burden of proof) generally falls on those advocating precautionary action. No mention

8056-457: The margin of safety is calculated after applying the design factor. In the case of a margin of 0, the part is at exactly the required strength (the safety factor would equal the design factor). If there is a part with a required design factor of 3 and a margin of 1, the part would have a safety factor of 6 (capable of supporting two loads equal to its design factor of 3, supporting six times the design load before failure ). A margin of 0 would mean

8162-421: The occurrence of any damage, albeit unpredictable in the current state of scientific knowledge, may seriously and irreversibly harm the environment, public authorities shall, with due respect for the principle of precaution and the areas within their jurisdiction, ensure the implementation of procedures for risk assessment and the adoption of temporary measures commensurate with the risk involved in order to preclude

8268-689: The occurrence of such damage. On 18 July 2005, the City of San Francisco passed a precautionary principle purchasing ordinance, which requires the city to weigh the environmental and health costs of its $ 600 million in annual purchases – for everything from cleaning supplies to computers. Members of the Bay Area Working Group on the Precautionary Principle contributed to drafting the Ordinance. The most important Australian court case so far, due to its exceptionally detailed consideration of

8374-408: The part would pass with a safety factor of 3. If the margin is less than 0 in this definition, although the part will not necessarily fail, the design requirement has not been met. A convenience of this usage is that for all applications, a margin of 0 or higher is passing, one does not need to know application details or compare against requirements, just glancing at the margin calculation tells whether

8480-426: The precautionary principle consists of an epistemic and a decision rule. The former concerns the "evidential bar" that should be required for animal sentience. In other words, how much evidence of sentience is necessary before one decides to apply precautionary measures? According to Birch, only some evidence would be sufficient, which means that the evidential bar should be set at low levels. Birch proposes to consider

8586-471: The precautionary principle has been invoked in order to grant potentially sentient animals "basic legal protections". Birch's formulation of the animal sentience precautionary principle runs as follows: Where there are threats of serious, negative animal welfare outcomes, lack of full scientific certainty as to the sentience of the animals in question shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent those outcomes. This version of

8692-452: The precautionary principle in their 2006 chemicals strategy. Fields typically concerned by the precautionary principle are the possibility of: The precautionary principle is often applied to biological fields because changes cannot be easily contained and have the potential of being global. The principle has less relevance to contained fields such as aeronautics , where the few people undergoing risk have given informed consent (e.g.,

8798-421: The precautionary principle suitable for the problem of animal sentience has been proposed by LSE philosopher Jonathan Birch : "The idea is that when the evidence of sentience is inconclusive, we should 'give the animal the benefit of doubt' or 'err on the side of caution' in formulating animal protection legislation." Since we cannot reach absolute certainty with regards to the fact that some animals are sentient,

8904-459: The precautionary principle would be complete without brief reference to the difference between the precautionary principle and the precautionary approach . Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration 1992 states that: "in order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall be not used as

9010-610: The precautionary principle, is Telstra Corporation Limited v Hornsby Shire Council. The principle was summarised by reference to the NSW Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991 , which itself provides a good definition of the principle: "If there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reasoning for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation. In

9116-424: The principle can be seen in the public policy of requiring pharmaceutical companies to carry out clinical trials to show that new medications are safe. Oxford based philosopher Nick Bostrom discusses the idea of a future powerful superintelligence , and the risks should it attempt to gain atomic level control of matter. Application of the principle modifies the status of innovation and risk assessment : it

9222-679: The proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof. In February 2000, the Commission of the European Communities noted in a Communication from the Commission on the Precautionary Principle that "The precautionary principle is not defined in the Treaties of the European Union , which prescribes it [the Precautionary Principle] only once – to protect the environment. But in practice, its scope

9328-419: The realm of God", as postulated by Prince Charles and Pope Benedict XVI . Many definitions of the precautionary principle exist: "precaution" may be defined as "caution in advance", "caution practiced in the context of uncertainty", or informed prudence . Two ideas lie at the core of the principle: One of the primary foundations of the precautionary principle, and globally accepted definitions, results from

9434-423: The responsible parties liable for environmental harm." Reversal of proof requires those proposing an activity to prove that the product, process or technology is sufficiently "safe" before approval is granted. Requiring proof of "no environmental harm" before any action proceeds implies the public is not prepared to accept any environmental risk, no matter what economic or social benefits may arise (Peterson, 2006). At

9540-423: The risk of inhaling multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Appeals to the precautionary principle have often characterized the debates concerning animal sentience – that is, the question of whether animals are able to feel "subjective experiences with an attractive or aversive quality", such as pain, pleasure, happiness, or joy – in relation to the question of whether we should legally protect sentient animals. A version of

9646-421: The safety factor until the part starts to deform plastically . The ultimate calculation will determine the safety factor until failure. In brittle materials the yield and ultimate strengths are often so close as to be indistinguishable, so it is usually acceptable to only calculate the ultimate safety factor. Appropriate design factors are based on several considerations, such as the accuracy of predictions on

9752-523: The same meaning, although in some particular cases an approach could be binding. A precautionary approach is a particular "lens" used to identify risk that every prudent person possesses (Recuerda, 2008) On 2 February 2000, the European Commission issued a Communication on the precautionary principle, in which it adopted a procedure for the application of this concept, but without giving a detailed definition of it. Paragraph 2 of article 191 of

9858-429: The same order should be considered sentient and should be thus legally protected. This is due to the fact that, on the one hand, "to investigate sentience separately in different orders" is feasible, whereas on the other hand, since some orders include thousands of species, it would be unfeasible to study their sentience separately. What is more, the evidential bar should be so low that only one indicator of sentience in

9964-424: The second part of the animal sentience precautionary principle, the decision rule concerns the requirement that we have to act once there is sufficient evidence of a seriously bad outcome. According to Birch, "we should aim to include within the scope of animal protection legislation all animals for which the evidence of sentience is sufficient, according to the standard of sufficiency outlined [above]". In other words,

10070-604: The species of a specific order will be sufficient in order for the precautionary principle to be applied. Such indicator should be "an observable phenomenon that experiments can be designed to detect, and it must be credible that the presence of this indicator is explained by sentience". Lists of such criteria already exist for detecting animal pain. The aim is to create analogous lists for other criteria of sentience, such as happiness, fear, or joy. The presence of one of these criteria should be demonstrated by means of experiments which must meet "the normal scientific standards". Regarding

10176-458: The strength of the structure to the requirements. There are two separate definitions for the margin of safety so care is needed to determine which is being used for a given application. One usage of M.S. is as a measure of capability like FoS. The other usage of M.S. is as a measure of satisfying design requirements (requirement verification). Margin of safety can be conceptualized (along with the reserve factor explained below) to represent how much of

10282-408: The structure's total capability is held "in reserve" during loading. M.S. as a measure of structural capability: This definition of margin of safety commonly seen in textbooks describes what additional load beyond the design load a part can withstand before failing. In effect, this is a measure of excess capability. If the margin is 0, the part will not take any additional load before it fails, if it

10388-579: The term and methods of analysis. Hans-Georg Gadamer asserted that prudence materializes through the application of principles and can be evaluated accordingly. Jasinski argues that Andrew Cuomo 's speech to the Catholic Church of Notre Dame cannot be judged solely on the basis of its consequences, since prudence is not reducible to episteme (knowledge or understanding) or techne (technique or art). Rather, he contends, it should be judged based on its embodied rhetorical performance — that is, how it

10494-457: The threat." Respondents filed a motion for reconsideration in June 2013 and on 20 September 2013 the Court of Appeals chose to uphold their May decision saying the bt talong field trials violate the people's constitutional right to a "balanced and healthful ecology." The Supreme Court on 8 December 2015 permanently stopped the field testing for Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) talong (eggplant), upholding

10600-426: The truth are considered virtuous, but those that are done with prudence would be considered expressions of the virtue of honesty. In Christian understanding, the difference between prudence and cunning lies in the intent with which a decision to act is made. The Christian understanding of the world includes the existence of God , the natural law , and moral implications of human actions. In this context, prudence

10706-579: The work of the Rio Conference , or " Earth Summit " in 1992. Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration notes: In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation . In 1998,

10812-480: Was considered by the ancient Greeks and later by Christian philosophers , most notably Thomas Aquinas , as the cause, measure, and form of all virtues. It is considered to be the auriga virtutum or the charioteer of the virtues. It is mentioned in the fifth of the Principal Doctrines of Epicurus , and in his Letter to Menoeceus, where he says: "Prudence is the foundation of all these things and

10918-449: Was gained only through experience, and while it was applied in everyday conversation, in public discourse it was subordinated to the broader term for wisdom, sapientia . In the modern era, rhetorical scholars have tried to recover a robust meaning for the term. They have maintained consistency with the ancient orators, contending that prudence is an embodied persuasive resource. Although sets of principles or rules can be constructed in

11024-667: Was highly probable. However, recent developments in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles have led academic critics to accuse the International Standard-Setting Body, IASB , of abandoning prudence. In the British reporting standard FRS 18, prudence, along with consistency, was relegated to a "desirable" quality of financial information rather than fundamental concept. Prudence was rejected for IFRS because it

11130-566: Was no reasonable likelihood of serious harm". Lack of this nuanced application makes the principle "self-cancelling" according to Stewart Brand , because "nothing is fully established" in science, starting from the precautionary principle itself and including "gravity or Darwinian evolution". A balanced application should ensure that "precautionary measures should be" only taken "during early stages" and as "relevant scientific evidence becomes established", regulatory measures should only respond to that evidence. Strong precaution holds that regulation

11236-463: Was promulgated in philosophy by Hans Jonas in his 1979 text, The Imperative of Responsibility , wherein Jonas argued that technology had altered the range of the impact of human action and, as such, ethics must be modified so that the far distant effects of one's actions should now be considered. His maxim is designed to embody the precautionary principle in its prescription that one should "Act so that

#953046