Is safety a subject for science?

•The paper addresses the meaning of safety as a scientific subject.•Conventionally, safety is defined by what happens when it is absent.•But to make sense, safety should be defined by what happens when it is present.•Safety science should therefore focus on situations where nothing goes wrong. In th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSafety science Vol. 67; pp. 21 - 24
Main Author Hollnagel, Erik
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier India Pvt Ltd 01.08.2014
Subjects
Epiphenomenon
Foundations
Non-event
Scientific subject
Social construct
Non-event
Foundations
Social construct
Scientific subject
Epiphenomenon
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Summary:•The paper addresses the meaning of safety as a scientific subject.•Conventionally, safety is defined by what happens when it is absent.•But to make sense, safety should be defined by what happens when it is present.•Safety science should therefore focus on situations where nothing goes wrong. In this paper I will not so much address the status of safety science as a science, but rather address the status or meaning of safety. So instead of entering into a discussion of whether safety science is a proper science – whatever that means – the focus will be on whether the notion of safety itself is a proper subject for scientific investigation or indeed whether safety as such is an appropriate topic or subject for a scientific discipline.
ISSN:0925-7535
1879-1042
DOI:10.1016/j.ssci.2013.07.025