Public health is once again becoming a major political and social issue in the 21st century, especially in relation to issues such as vaccination, the threat of pandemics, bioterrorism, smoking and obesity. A diverse set of theoretical ideas have emerged recently in the legal, political, bioethical and philosophical fields that could usefully be applied to these and other issues in public health. This book provides a much needed introduction to some of the relevant philosophical concepts and arguments that might be used to build a philosophy of public health. Consisting of both theoretical contributions and case studies, this multidisciplinary collection of essays will both inform and generate debate among academics, policy makers and practitioners about these important issues in public health.

Contents: Introduction: the philosophy of public health, Angus Dawson; The role of law in public health, Robyn Martin; Luck, risk and prevention, Katherine King; The duty to promote social capital, Patricia Illingworth; On the evaluative space for measuring public health performance, Onyebuchi A. Arah; Global concerns and local arguments: how a localized bioethics may perpetuate injustice, Sÿren Holm; Health in developing countries and our global responsibilities, Gillian Brock; Shared responsibility agreements: causes of contention, Paula Boddington; Anti-paternalism and public health policy: the case of product safety legislation, Kalle Grille; Newborn screening and choosing whether to know, Niels Nijsingh; Choosing to sleep, Benjamin Hale and Lauren Hale; Categories of constraint and avenues of freedom: proposing collective agency for addressing problems of obesity, Catherine A. Womack; Equipoise in public health research, Marcel Verweij; Closing the book on infectious disease: the mischievous consequences for bioethics and for public health, Leslie P. Francis, Margaret P. Battin, Jay A. Jacobson and Charles B. Smith; The common good argument and HIV prevention, Charlotte Paul; Contagious disease and rights, T.M. Wilkinson; Index

Angus Dawson is Professor of Public Health Ethics and Head of Medicine, Ethics, Society & History (MESH) at the University of Birmingham, UK.