Risk, Death, and Well-Being - The Ethical Foundations of Fatality Risk Regulation

A wide range of governmental policies characteristic of the modern state seek to reduce individuals' fatality risks. Risk, Death, and Well-Being provides a rigorous treatment of the ethics of fatality risk regulation. It does so through the lens of welfare-consequentialism--specifically, lifetime welfarism, with a particular focus on utilitarianism and prioritarianism. At the level of policy choice, the book deploys the social-welfare-function (SWF) framework--which is the most systematic decision-procedure for implementing lifetime welfarism.

About the author

Matthew D. Adler is Richard A. Horvitz Professor of Law and Professor of Economics, Philosophy and Public Policy at Duke University, and is the founding director of the Duke Center for Law, Economics and Public Policy. He writes at the intersection of law, moral philosophy, and welfare economics. His current research focuses on "prioritarianism"--a refinement to utilitarianism that gives extra weight to the worse off. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including Well-Being and Fair Distribution: Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis and Measuring Social Welfare: An Introduction. With Marc Fleurbaey, he edited the Oxford Handbook of Well-Being and Public Policy.

Product details

• Authors: Matthew D Adler, Matthew D. (Richard A. Horvitz Professor of Adler, Adler Matthew D.
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 11.10.2025
• EAN: 9780197505953
• ISBN: 978-0-19-750595-3
• No. of pages: 352
• Series: Population-Level Bioethics
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Miscellaneous; PHILOSOPHY / Political, Social & political philosophy, social and political philosophy, Medical & healthcare law, Medical ethics and professional conduct, Medical ethics & professional conduct, Medical and healthcare law