ABSTRACT

Human beings have an undisputed need to be and to feel safe, individually and collectively. One of the main reasons for the dominant interpretation of safety as the absence of harm is that humans, individually and collectively, have a practical need to be free from harm as well as a psychological need to feel free from harm. This chapter has argues that it is important to be thorough in trying to find solutions to that need. The immediate and 'obvious' solution is to focus on what goes wrong, to eliminate that, and to verify the outcome by counting and comparing the number of accidents before and after an intervention has been made. While this may be efficient in the sense that it quickly, but alas only temporarily, reduces the feeling of uncertainty, it is not a thorough solution in the long run.