Int. J. Biotechnology, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2002 81 Copyright © 2002 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. An ethical analysis of the precautionary principle Marc A. Saner Ethics & Policy Issues Centre, Department of Philosophy, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada Fax: +1 (613) 520-3962 E-mail: saner@magma.ca Website: http://www.carleton.ca/epic Abstract: The debate over the precautionary principle is intimately linked with values and worldviews. I examine how diverging conceptions of ‘the good world’ affect the conceptualisation of the precautionary principle. Three complementary conceptualisations emerge: 1 a call for a change in attitude, 2 a prescription for formalistic action and 3 guidance for contextual action. I apply these conceptualisations to two extreme forms of implementations, a minimal and maximum change approach. I conclude by conducting risk evaluations of the second order: What are the risks of implementing the precautionary principle into risk evaluation? Keywords: Precautionary principle; ethics; analysis; meaning; contextual; formalistic; paradox; Pascal’s Wager; Buridan’s Ass; risk assessment; risk management. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Saner, M.A. (2002) ‘An ethical analysis of the precautionary principle’, Int. J. Biotechnology, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp.81–95. Biographical notes: Marc Saner is a private consultant and the Managing Director of the Ethics and Policy Issues Centre at Carleton University (Ontario, Canada). He obtained a Doctorate in Zoology from the University of Basel (Switzerland) with a dissertation on biological weed control. He then worked as a regulatory scientist for the Federal Government of Canada on the assessment of the environmental safety of biological and chemical pesticides. He returned to university and obtained a Masters of Arts in Philosophy with a specialisation in environmental ethics and the ethical issues surrounding biotechnology (Carleton University). He has published in the fields of biological control, ecology, philosophy and environmental ethics. 1 Introduction It could be argued that it is futile to strive for a universally acceptable conceptualisation of the precautionary principle (PP) and that there is no need for another paper on the meaning and use of the PP. Surely the debate is already well advanced in terms of both