Philosophy for Public Health and Public Policy

James Wilson’s clear and tightly argued new book, Philosophy for Public Health and Public Policy: Beyond the Neglectful State, endeavors to carve out a space for a pragmatic, practice oriented philosophy in the world of public health policy making…I would recommend the book to those who are curious about methodology in normative ethics and about how to make scholarly endeavors more readily applicable to tough political and policy problems. * Kathryn MacKay, University of Sydney, Ethics *

James Wilson is Professor of Philosophy at UCL, where he is also co-director of the Health Humanities Centre. He has been at UCL since 2008, with a secondment to the Royal Society as a Senior Policy Adviser in 2011-12. His research uses philosophy to help resolve practical problems, and also uses practical problems to investigate gaps and weaknesses in existing philosophical theories. He has published widely on public health ethics and health policy, and also on the ownership and governance of ideas and information. Among other advisory roles, he is a member of the National Data Guardian’s Panel.