As part of the President of Ireland's Ethics Initiative, NUI Galway’s discipline of Philosophy will host a public lecture by Professor Jonathan Wolff. The lecture, 'Social Equality and Poverty' will take place on Friday, 10 October at 4pm in the lower Aula Maxima on campus.

Jonathan Wolff is Professor of Philosophy and Dean of Arts and Humanities at University College London. He is the author of several books on political philosophy, including Disadvantage (with Avner de-Shalit), Ethics and Public Policy, and The Human Right to Health. He has been a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Gambling Review Body, and the Board of Science of the British Medical Association. Professor Wolff also writes a regular column on higher education for The Guardian.

A society of equals is a society that avoids a range of destructive asymmetrical social relations, including domination, exploitation, snobbery, servility and social exclusion. But how, in the highly unequal societies in which we live, can we begin to make progress on eliminating social inequality? During his lecture Professor Wolff will explore how thinking about relative poverty can help illuminate one highly important aspect of social inequality: social exclusion. At the same time reflecting on relative poverty, and the steps people take to overcome it, can help to understand some of the considerable structural obstacles that stand in the way of achieving a society of equals.

The President of Ireland’s Ethics initiative is organised in collaboration with Ireland’s third-level universities and seeks to explore throughout all aspects of society the topic of ethics and the challenge and invitation of living ethically.

Richard Hull, Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and a Director of the Centre of Bioethical Research and Analysis (COBRA) at NUI Galway, said: “We are delighted to welcome Professor Wolff to the University. He is one of the most influential contemporary political philosophers, and he will add a distinguished voice to the President of Ireland’s Ethics Initiative.”

For further information contact Ann O’Higgins in the discipline of Philosophy at 091 492382 or email ann.ohiggins@nuigalway.ie. More information on the lecture is available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/philosophy/news_and_events/index.html.

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