Les dieux sont tombés... pile! Eléments de l'histoire du risque référés à l'histoire et aux idéologies de l'humanité. Un regard psychosocial
The gods have fallen ... Stack! Elements of the history of the risk referred to the history and ideologies of humanity. A psychosocial view

Summary/Abstract: This paper presents a psychosocial perspective on the emergence of the notions of risk and underlines the weight of the socioeconomic and ideological environment in this process. By refering to it in the context of ideologies of humankind (Greek polytheism, Judaism, Christianity, and humanism), we suggest that the notions of probability and risk could emerge only under the pressure of socioeconomic conditions (need to forecast) and under specific ideological conditions. This analysis highlights the relatively recent use of the probabilities for risk evaluation, which can explain why, in the social thought, consequences still prevail over probability. Lastly, we give a concrete illustration of the weight of the socioeconomic environment and ideological heritage in the development of the social representations related to a collective risk. This analysis focuses on the apparently paradoxical case of a population who is confronted with seismic risk but is indifferent to the laws intended to reduce it: Romanian citizens.

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