UCL FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

31 January 2012

UCL Wilkins Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, 6.30pm  

Professor Albert Weale (Department of Political Science)

Albert Weale’s research has concentrated on issues of political theory and public policy, especially the theory of justice and the theory of democracy, health policy and comparative environmental policy. His publications include eight books, some co-authored or edited, as well as journal papers and chapters. He has chaired Nuffield Council on Bioethics since 2008 and is currently a Vice-President of the British Academy, with responsibility for public policy matters.

Public Policy and the Democratic Intellect

Public policy is a deliberative process. That is to say, it requires reasoning from decision premisses to a practical conclusion. But what does this involve in a democratic society, particularly when issues are controversial such as the setting of health care priorities or the determination of environmental standards? This lecture advances the claim that what is needed is a democratic intellect, involving public processes of reasoning that are both capable of replication and sensitive to the details of particular circumstances. Some illustrations are given as well as conclusions drawn about the character of a university education in public policy.