Risk. Dealing with Uncertainty in Modern Times

Abstract

People have always lived under conditions of uncertainty. But how to deal with uncertainty and how security is produced varies depending on the social formation. This paper deals with the handling of uncertainty in modern societies. Modern societies always try to conceptualize uncertainties as action-related, responsible and calculable/predictable ‘risks’. This was a quite successful approach for a long time. However, under the conditions of ‘risk society’, this approach is increasingly difficult to work. Especially in the case of ‘new risks’, the attempt to conceptualize any uncertainty as a predictable and cumulatively controllable risk, can hardly be realized. That's why modern societies must ask for and reflect on a ‘new culture of uncertainty’.