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Hatton Professor in the Philosophy of Public Health, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Stephen John is a Professor of Philosophy of Public Health at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, and Director of Studies in Philosophy at Pembroke College.
His key philosophical interest is in understanding how the fundamental philosophical problem of the relationship between the ethical and the epistemological is, might and should be resolved in practical contexts.
His research so far has clustered around four concepts which are central to policy making, and which raise both epistemic and ethical puzzles: chance, certainty, categorisation and communication. To address these topics, he draws on a variety of philosophical sub-disciplines, including philosophy of science, political philosophy, applied ethics and social epistemology. He has explored case studies ranging from Lysenkoist genetics to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to contemporary alcohol policy. In his current research, he is particularly interested in debates over the early detection and prevention of cancer. He also engages with debates in public health and environmental policy over such topics as the prevention paradox, the precautionary principle, prenatal screening, alcohol policy, vaccination ethics, and climate change.
From 2015 to 2018 with Anna Alexandrova, he co-directed a project on the 'Limits of the Numerical' at CRASSH. He is also affiliated with the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, with Cambridge University's Public Health Strategic Research Network, and with the Early Detection Programme at the Cambridge Cancer Centre.