The Safety of Work

Ep.67 How to constructively resolve an argument about safety theory?

Feb 21, 2021

The podcast explores the importance of constructive dialogue in safety theory debates. It discusses finding original sources, understanding context, and the balance between old and new safety ideas. Emphasizes the need to move debates forward with knowledge and evidence, avoiding dismissing entire fields or theories.

46:47

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Quick takeaways

Understanding original sources is crucial for accurate representation in safety debates.

Acknowledge the nuances of safety theories to deepen understanding of accident causation.

Practitioners can enrich safety theories by implementing practical applications and sharing outcomes.

Deep dives

Importance of Understanding Original Sources in Safety Debates

In safety debates, it is crucial to consider the original sources to ensure accurate representation of ideas. Understanding the source material and what it entails can help in bridging the gap between differing viewpoints and finding common ground for discussion.

Introduction

2min

Navigating Disagreements through Understanding

5min

Navigating Disagreements in Safety Theory

15min

Exploring High Reliability Organizing Theory and Accident Causation

2min

Harmonizing Safety Theories for Enhanced Risk Management

8min

Navigating Safety Theory Debates in Organizational Contexts

7min

The Role of Gurus and the Nuance of Sharing Ideas

8min

You may find that this conversation makes us look hypocritical, when discussing how to argue. We just want the best outcomes for all discussions regarding safety. Ultimately, this topic came out of some recent intense arguments in the safety field and we wanted to address how to constructively handle disagreements in person and online.

Topics:

Finding original sources.
Figuring out what the original source says.
Understanding context.
Looking for the overall position of a paper or book.
Design vs. behavior.
Why new and old ideas aren’t mutually exclusive.
The line between sharing and evangelizing.
Knowledge and evidence that moves the debate forward.

Quotes:

“Unless an entire field is genuinely pseudoscience, it’s always very, very dangerous to dismiss an entire field.”

“A lot of the time that there is a disagreement with Safety II, it’s basically people saying we shouldn’t be throwing out everything to do with Safety I. What we actually need is some kind of middle-ground between Safety I and Safety II.”

“A lot of the time, when we argue, there’s an implicit assumption that we can only agree with one of the theories, because they’re somehow mutually exclusive.”

Resources:

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