On the difference between the concepts of danger and risk

Common definitions of the concept of danger include: the possibility of something undesirable happening; and a situation, condition, a state or circumstances that could lead to – or is likely to lead to – some undesirable events or consequences. A distinction is made between ‘in danger’ (e.g. the person is in danger of being exploited) and ‘danger of’ (e.g. the danger of smoking). There are different ways of defining and understanding risk (different risk perspectives), and several of these very much resemble the above ways of understanding danger. For example, one well-established risk perspective adopted in social sciences views smoking as a risk, as we face a situation where something of human value is at stake and where the outcome is uncertain. But smoking may also be seen as a danger, which makes us question whether there is in fact a difference between the two concepts. This paper aims at clarifying this challenge. New insights are provided by reviewing common terminology from theory and practice and using current knowledge on risk conceptualization and characterization. The paper concludes that danger should be viewed as a risk source for which the associated risk is judged as relatively high in relation to undesirable consequences.