Philosophy, Law and the Family

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction

   • Laurence D. Houlgate

   Pages 1-9

3. Law, Morals and the Constitution

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

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   2. Natural Law Theory

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 13-34

   3. Legal Positivism

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 35-57

   4. Constitutional Interpretation

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 59-87

4. State Intervention in the Family

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 89-89

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   2. The Moral Limits of Family Law

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 91-114

   3. Family Crime and Punishment

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 115-126

   4. Child Abuse and Neglect

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 127-141

   5. Family Torts and Remedies

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 143-168

5. Marriage, Children and the State

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 169-169

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   2. Family Contracts: Marriage and Divorce

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 171-201

   3. Children, Parents and the State

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 203-225

6. Contract and Property Disputes Arising from Alternative Birth Methods

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 227-227

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   2. Surrogacy

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 229-248

   3. Frozen Embryos

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 249-266

7. Alternative Approaches to the Philosophy of Law

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 267-267

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   2. Critical Legal Studies and Feminist Jurisprudence

      • Laurence D. Houlgate

      Pages 269-283

This textbook uses cases in family law to illustrate both traditional philosophical problems in the law as well as problems that are unique to family law. In the beginning chapters family law cases are employed to introduce the reader to philosophical debates about the relationship between law and morals, about how one ought to interpret the U.S. Constitution and its amendments, about the conditions under which individual liberty is justifiably limited by law, about the justification of punishment, and about the justification of remedies and standards of care in determining negligence in tort cases. Later chapters are devoted to contemporary issues unique to family law, including justifiable limits of access to marriage, alternatives to marriage, the rights of children, child custody disputes involving surrogate births, quasi-property disputes involving custody of frozen embryos, and the justifiable limits of the right not to procreate. The book reflects current movements, contemporarydebates, and recent research on the philosophical problems in family law.

• Introduction to Legal Philosophy
• Jurisprudence versus Philosophy of Law
• Natural Law Theory
• Family Law
• Rape and Forced Marriage
• John Austin
• H.L.A. Hart
• Legal Positivism
• Ronald Dworkin
• Lon Fuller
• Concept of “Person” in the U.S. Constitution
• Harm to Mother and Child
• Selling Babies and Renting Bodies
• Forced Procreation
• Thomas Hobbes
• Herbert Spencer
• John Locke and J.S. Mill
• Rights of Children
• Custodial Status of Children
• Marital Benefits and Burdens

• Department of Philosophy, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA

  Laurence D. Houlgate

Laurence Houlgate is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.  He received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has previously held professorships at the University of California, Santa Barbara and George Mason University, Virginia.  He has published many articles in legal and philosophical journals and is the author of The Child and the State, Family and State, and Morals, Marriage and Parenthood.

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