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The Public Philosopher

Factual: Politics

Political philosopher Michael Sandel examines the thinking behind a current controversy.

Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel examines the thinking behind a current controversy.

The Public Philosopher: Series 1: Episode 3: Should we bribe people to be healthy?

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Series 1

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Episode 3: Should we bribe people to be healthy?

Should we bribe people to be healthy?

BBC Radio 4 - The Public Philosopher, Series 1, Should we bribe people to be healthy?

Questioning the morality of paying people to lose weight, quit smoking or abandon alcohol.

Michael Sandel ponders the moral questions that lie behind paying people to lose weight, quit smoking or abandon alcohol.

The eminent Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel brings his trademark style to a discussion on a current issue, questioning the thinking underlying a current controversy This week, he takes a provocative look at the controversial subject of incentivising good health. 

Michael Sandel has been enthralling students at Harvard for years. These discussions - recorded in front of an audience at the London School of Economics - bring his trademark style to Radio 4. They're challenging, outspoken and interactive. 

Sandel turns his attention to health and ponders whether the present constraints on the NHS leave us with no choice but to bribe people to be healthy. Profound moral questions lie behind paying people to lose weight, quit smoking or abandon alcohol. Michael Sandel weaves through these issues with the help of philosophers past and present. 


Producer: Adele Armstrong.

The Public Philosopher: Series 1

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Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel questions the thinking beneath controversies

Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel questions the thinking underlying a current controversy

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The Public Philosopher

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Episode 3: Should we bribe people to be healthy?

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