ABSTRACT
In this chapter I focus on a deep and nuanced insight into the concept of safety. I choose three approaches: (1) an etymological and conceptual-historical analysis of the terms securitas and certitudo ; (2) an existential-phenomenological analysis of safety as a basic human experience and need; (3) a hermeneutical and post-phenomenological understanding of contemporary threats to safety in a high-technological society. The main conclusion is that considerations of safety should reach beyond the modern false dilemma between subjective freedom and objective control, towards a better understanding of the complicated relationship between trust and security.
