On the use of the term “real risk”

Abstract

AbstractThe term “real risk” and variations of this term are commonly used in everyday speech and writing, and in the scientific literature. There are mainly two types of use: i) in statements about what the real risk related to an activity is and ii) in statements about the risk related to an activity being real. The former type of use has been extensively discussed in the literature, whereas the latter type has received less attention. In the present study, we review both types of use and analyze and discuss potential meanings of type ii) statements. We conclude that it is reasonable to interpret a statement about the risk being real as reflecting a judgement that there is some risk and that the knowledge supporting this statement is relatively strong. However, such a statement does not convey whether the risk is small or large and needs to be supplemented by a characterization of the risk.