Date: December 16, 2024 Time: 4:00 PM Venue: Aula Consiglio, DAStU, first floor, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 26, Building 29 “Carta” – 20133 Milan

Abstract: This paper articulates and defends a novel type of precautionary argument for situations of severe uncertainty in science and policy, which I term precautionary slippery slope argument. The paper explicates the structure of precautionary slippery slope arguments, identifies the main factors that bear on the strength of these arguments, and defends such arguments from several influential objections put forward against standard slippery slope arguments and other prominent forms of precautionary reasoning.

Dr. Roberto Fumagalli is Senior Lecturer at King’s College London and has research affiliations with the London School of Economics and the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests cover a wide range of areas, including philosophy of economics, philosophy of science, philosophy and public policy. He has published articles in several international journals, including Philosophical Studies, Philosophy of Science, Economics and Philosophy, Biology and Philosophy, Erkenntnis, Synthese, Theory and Decision, Social Choice and Welfare, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, the Journal of Social Philosophy, the Journal of Applied Philosophy, Bioethics, Public Health Ethics, the Journal of Medical Ethics, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, and the Journal of Economic Methodology.