The Public Philosopher - Should universities give preference to applicants from poor backgrounds?

Date: Thursday 8 March 2012
Time: 7.45-9pm
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Michael Sandel

In a series of 3 public events on 8 and 9 March at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) being recorded for radio, Michael Sandel professor of political philosophy at Harvard and one of the university's most popular lecturers will challenge his audience to apply critical thinking to the sort of ethical dilemmas most people rely on gut instinct to resolve.

This is the second lecture in this series.

The first lecture on 8 March at 5.45pm is entitled Should a banker be paid more than a nurse?|

The second lecture on 8 March at 7.45pm is entitled Should universities give preference to applicants from poor backgrounds?

The third lecture on 9 March at 6.30pm is entitled Should we bribe people to be healthy?|

Each event is ticketed, so you need to submit a ticket request for each of the lectures.

Michael Sandel's lectures to Harvard undergraduates are so popular that students
have to be turned away. The lectures are challenging and interactive. Audience members are asked to raise their hands in response to a series of questions about their attitudes to a political issue of the day. The brave ones will volunteer to explain the thinking behind their views. So begins an hour in which political controversies are examined with regard to the underlying philosophical issues.

An antidote to the "yah-boo" debate of party politics, Sandel's lectures will be profound as well as entertaining.

The lectures will be broadcast as The Public Philosopher on BBC Radio 4 at 9am on Tuesday 3, 10 and 17 April 2012.

Michael Sandel is Professor of Government and lecturer in political philosophy at
Harvard. As the BBC's Reith lecturer in 2009, he explored the topics of moral and
civic renewal in democratic politics; genetics and morality; the role of morality in
politics; and the moral limits of markets. In January 2011 he hosted a discussion for
BBC Four at the Royal Institution on fairness in public policy and the Big Society. His
latest book, What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, will be published in
April 2012.

Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #lseSandel

Ticket Information

Wednesday 29 February, 10.40am: all tickets at the New Academic Building SU shop have been allocated.

Wednesday 29 February, 12pm: All tickets for this event have now been allocated. You will be notified within 48 hours whether your ticket request has been successful.

For those unable to request a ticket, please note the following:

Returns Queue

There will be a returns queue in operation at this event, situated outside the Sheikh Zayed Theatre. Any seats left empty by ticketholders will be filled by those in the returns queue shortly before the start of the event. Entry via the returns queue is not guaranteed.

Videolink

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