The Paradox of Positivism for Safety Most people in safety would be unaware that the common philosophy driving the safety worldview is known as Positivism. You can get some background on positivism here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism. Positivism privileges information interpreted through … [Read more...] about The Paradox of Positivism for Safety
Search Results for: positivism
No End of Heaven nor Scientific Age for Safety
I read Dekker’s theology on End of Heaven some years ago with its loaded biblical references and theological exegesis and wondered what is this fixation with science in safety? What is this attraction to the discourse and myth of the scientific method? … [Read more...] about No End of Heaven nor Scientific Age for Safety
By What Method?
There is so much hype and marketing in safety, with so many promises, slogans and mantras. However, when you cut through all of the spin and marketing there needs to be two critical questions to be asked: by what method? And, who does that method privilege? When one asks these questions, one is … [Read more...] about By What Method?
The Phenomenon of Safety – A Video
I was asked by Billy Snead if we could do a Zoom session on the nature of Phenomenology and its relevance to safety. So, we recorded out chat here: Conversation with Billy on Phenomenology from CLLR on Vimeo. As you will see in the video, Billy rightfully identifies that the philosophy of … [Read more...] about The Phenomenon of Safety – A Video
What is a Semiotic Walk?
I once met a Safety Manager who had worked at a factory for 10 years and had never walked the floor! His office was high above the factory and he could see everything either directly or via CCTV. He could easily write up any misdemeanour by surveillance (which was recorded), complete a checklist and … [Read more...] about What is a Semiotic Walk?
A Guide to Tokenism in Ethics in Safety
I read this nonsense from the ASSP on ethics and of course, it is laughable (The Professional Ethics of Workplace Safety and Health). It is straight out of the AIHS BoK playbook on tokenism in ethics (https://safetyrisk.net/the-aihs-bok-and-ethics-check-your-gut/). This is typical of safety … [Read more...] about A Guide to Tokenism in Ethics in Safety
The Safety and ‘New View’ Debate
The Safety and ‘New View’ Debate How Many Angels Can Dance on a Pinhead? Introduction Let me first acknowledge that I do not find any ranking of safety such as S1 or S2 helpful, so I try to avoid such language and will do my best to avoid it in this paper. Indeed, ranking language in safety is … [Read more...] about The Safety and ‘New View’ Debate
The Art of Practicing Presence
The Art of Practicing Presence One of the trade-offs in Yo-Yo Safety (https://safetyrisk.net/the-yo-yo-delusion-and-conversations-about-risk/) is the delusion that trinkets and tricks (https://safetyrisk.net/trinket-safety/ ), entertainment and ‘noise’ trump substance and presence. In the world of … [Read more...] about The Art of Practicing Presence
The Disembodied Human and Persons in Safety
The Disembodied Human and Persons in Safety One of the weaknesses of the positivist ideology (https://safetyrisk.net/the-paradox-of-positivism-for-safety/) that dominates safety is the behaviourist notion that humans are objects that simply respond to inputs and outputs. Wouldn’t it be neat and … [Read more...] about The Disembodied Human and Persons in Safety
Ways in Which the Workplace Harms Us
Ways in Which the Workplace Harms Us Guest post by one of the USA based students in The Centre for Leadership and Learning in Risk (CLLR) online program https://cllr.com.au/online-courses-overseas-students/ There is an old phrase, “No man is an island”, that expresses the idea that human … [Read more...] about Ways in Which the Workplace Harms Us