Professor of Philosophy
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 uses practical problems to investigate gaps and weaknesses in existing philosophical theories.
He has published widely on public health ethics and health policy, and on the ownership and governance of ideas and information. His book Philosophy for Public Health and Public Policy: Beyond the Neglectful State will be published later in 2021 by Oxford University Press. Among other advisory roles, he is a member of the National Data Guardian’s Panel and the Faculty of Public Health’s Ethics Committee, and was a member of the Ethics Advisory Group for the NHS Covid-19 App.