Should Social Amplification of Risk Be Counteracted?

The importance of the conceptual statement, by Roger Kasperson et al., on social amplification of risk lies, firstly, in the identification of a phenome-non as one worth studying, instead of being irritated and frustrated ibout it and concerned only to get it out of the way. Accusations of “public hysteria ” and “ irresponsible media ” are commonplace, without any real attempt at understanding causes and mecha-nisms, let alone a closer look at the normative qualifications of “ hysteria ” and “irre~ponsibility”.~ Kasperson et al. provide a forceful summing up of the limitations of traditional, technical risk analysis, and propose to overcome the limitations by adding the phenomenon of public reactions to risk and further repercussions (“secondary impacts”). One may wonder whether this is sufficient; but it clearly is necessary. Secondly, the attempt at systematic description usefully articulates a number of dimensions and aspects of the problem. The added benefit is that, in doing so, some of the ambiguities become apparent-of the proposed analysis, but also of the way we tend to treat the phenomena of social amplification of risk. For example, although the phenomenon is defined in a neutral way, in the introduction and later when communications theory is invoked (“amplification denotes the process of intensifying or attenuating signals during the transmission of infor

Enabling identity: The challenge of presenting the silenced voices of repressed groups in philosophic communities of inquiry

This article seeks to contribute to the challenge of presenting the silenced voices of excluded groups in society by means of a philosophic community of inquiry composed primarily of children and young adults. It proposes a theoretical model named ‘enabling identity’ that presents the stages whereby, under the guiding role played by the community of philosophic inquiry, the hegemonic meta-narrative of the mainstream society makes room for the identity of members of marginalised groups. The model is based on the recognition of diverse narratives within a web of communal narratives that does not favour the meta-narrative. It reports on the experiences of moderators and students from weak and excluded sectors of society in two countries whose participation in communities of philosophical inquiry gave them not only a “voice” but also a presence and identity