Risk as zombie category: Ulrich Beck’s unfinished project of the ‘non-knowledge’ society

Abstract

‘Non-knowledge’ is a classical sociological term introduced into sociology most prominently by Georg Simmel. Dismissing classical sociological concepts as ‘zombie categories’, Ulrich Beck turned to non-knowledge relatively late in his career. This article argues provocatively that many of Beck’s observations on issues ranging from the uninsurability of modern risks to the notion of risk itself would have greatly profited from being complemented or even substituted by a theory of not knowing. Viewed in this light, Beck’s notion of risk no longer applies to the world he describes and thus has become one of his own zombie categories. The article then takes up some of Beck’s unfinished attempts at conceptualizing the unknown and develops them further so that they might prove useful for security studies and related fields today. To illustrate this approach, the article uses examples of non-knowledge on matters ranging from potential terrorist attacks to issues of human health and security.

Ulrich Beck: exploring and contesting risk

“…Before examining the consequences of this more closely, it is important to include one final aspect of the new risks, that being how non-knowledge is an important feature of these risks. Gross has gone so far as to suggest that Beck should have named the risk society 'the non-knowledge society' (Gross, 2016). Doing so might possibly over-emphasized one aspect of Beck's concept of risk, but there is no doubt that this aspect has become a core element in Beck's understanding of the new risks.…”

The significance of meaning. Why IPBES needs the social sciences and humanities

“…Deliberation can help clarify imperfections in knowledge, deal with lack of consensus, and jointly explore the boundaries between knowledge and ignorance (see, e.g. Gross 2016). Indeed, the contrary tendency among natural scientists to omit uncertainties at the science-policy communication interface has, on numerous occasions, been detrimental to public trust not just in individual scientists and their "truth claims" but also in their disciplines and institutions (see Kasperson and Kasperson 2005;Lockie and Wong 2017;Wynne 1996).…”

Insecurity and the invisible: The challenge of spiritual (in)security

“…The post-9/11 era has seen policymakers and security practitioners move away from a focus on more predictable, tangible, Cold War-style 'threats' to de-bounded, non-linear 'risks' that exist within a deeply unstable universe of degrees of (un)certainty, prediction and premeditation (De Goede, 2008;Massumi, 2015). Risk emanates from possibility and potential -from terrorist attack to global pandemic (Gross, 2016;Kittelsen, 2009) -and enables, indeed from some perspectives compels, state actors to extend their coercive, surveillance and judicial reach deep into the everyday lives of citizens in the name of security. The management of security has become, for some scholars, an intrusive and ever-expanding mode of governance itself (Müller, 2010).…”