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 *an important, well-argued, and well-written book… Agree with him or not that there is a right to public health, and that we need to evolve our methods and methodology of reasoning in applied political philosophy, this book will keep you thinking about the ideas presented therein long after you’ve finished it. I’m confident that Wilson’s book will become a touchstone in public health ethics for years to come. * Diego Silva, Public Health 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.