Rischio e tutela. La teoria morale alle prese con l’incertezza dell’atto.

In this essay, we reflect on the concepts of ‘risk’ and ‘safeguard’ within the moral philosophical debate, defining risk as the possibility of committing amorally negative act and protection as a possible theoretical support in the prevention of such risk. Through a series of philosophically relevant questions, the essay explores the role of normative theory in the face of risk, examining practical decisions under conditions of uncertainty and their moral significance. Ancient thought, in particular that of Aristotle, is analysed to better understand these dynamics. Subsequently, the essay focuses on medieval thought, with particular attention to the work of Thomas Aquinas and the development of the principle of double effect (PDE) in Second Scholasticism.