International workshop "Philosophy of Public Health"

On 21 and 22 November 2024, the international workshop "Philosophy of Public Health", organized by the Centre for Applied Philosophy and the Johannesburg-Durham Centre for Philosophy of Epidemiology, Medicine and Public Health, took place at the Faculty of Theology of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. The event, which combined online and face-to-face formats, attracted experts from different parts of the world and created a platform for a deeper discussion on philosophical aspects of public health.

The conference brought together virtual and physical participants from many countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, Romania, France, Italy, USA, UK, Iran, Thailand, South Africa, and Zambia. The keynote lecture on "Capability-Based Principlism" was delivered by Prof. Benjamin Smart from the University of Johannesburg, who also introduced his new book. During the two-day programme, experts offered perspectives on key topics related to ethical, epistemic, ontological and communicative aspects of public health, e.g. pandemics, H5N1, causality, evidence-based medicine, nursing, autism, integration of traditional healers into health care, social determinants of health, trust in experts, immunology, microplastics, etc.

The conference was well received and offered a unique opportunity to link philosophy with current public health challenges. Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Assoc. Prof. Michal Opatrný, appreciated the rich participation and the high professional level of discussion. The event was supported by the Effective Altruism of the Czech Republic, the Snow Initiative, the Karel Čapek Centre, and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

Contacts for media: Daniel D. Novotný, USB Faculty of Theology, Kněžská 8, 370 01 České Budějovice, E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.