Philosophy and public policy (23 Nov 2010)

UCL Lunch Hour Lecture: Philosophy and public policy
Professor Jonathan Wolff (UCL Philosophy)
Can moral and political philosophy be used to help solve problems in public life? How? Some philosophers attempt to derive theories to be applied in practice. This, it will be argued, is not a practical or desirable approach. Rather the philosopher should be to try to understand the values underlying dilemmas of public policy and to explore options for reducing or resolving them. Public policy needs the application of philosophical skills, rather than philosophical theory.