Risk judgments have a central role with respect to what we ought to do and believe. For example, whether Israel's war in Gaza is morally justified depends in part on whether Israel's war lessens the risk of future terrorist attacks. It is often proper to blame a person who imposes unnecessary risks on us. Whether someone knows a fact depends in part on how great the risk that their belief is false. This project investigates what risk is and how it relates to ethical and epistemological questions. Can we understand knowledge in terms of risk? Can societal structures that impose risks on us harm us, even if the risks do not materialize? This project formulates a new theory of risk that incorporates elements of extant theories. The research utilizes model building in epistemic logic to map out structural properties of risk.

2024

2028