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Introduction

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Understanding Risk-Taking

Part of the book series: Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty ((CRSTRU))

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Abstract

In scholarly and public debate, risk-taking is a disputed concept. Risk-taking is considered an exceptional as well as an ordinary activity; an expression of vulnerability as much as a means to challenge and overcome social boundaries; it is considered a part of human nature as well as a socially shaped activity. Experts have been puzzled why and how people sometimes take risks which seem unreasonable at a first glance. This chapter positions the book in the broader debate on risk-taking and argues for an interpretivist approach aiming to reconstructing the meaning of risk-taking and how it is shaped by social forces and individual experience. It gives an overview of the book structure and argument.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Helen Keller (1880–1968), American author, political activist and lecturer was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

  2. 2.

    Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910) or better known as Mark Twain was an American writer, humourist, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer.

  3. 3.

    April 2016, at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/living-life-zero-risk-extremely-risky-louise-armstrong.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Jens O. Zinn

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  1. Jens O. Zinn
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Correspondence to Jens O. Zinn .

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Zinn, J.O. (2020). Introduction. In: Understanding Risk-Taking. Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28650-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28650-7_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28649-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28650-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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