Houlgate, Laurence D.

Dr. Laurence Houlgate received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and received his B.A. at California State University, Los Angeles. He is one of the first philosophers in the 20th century to write about the rights of children, family ethics and the philosophy of family law. He is a co-founder of the Society for Philosophy and the Family. He is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at California Polytechnic State University.

Children’s Rights, State Intervention, Custody and Divorce. Contradictions in Ethics and Family Law

2005 0-7734-6049-7
This book is about four philosophical problems that arise from consideration of the legal relationship of the state to the family and the ethical relationship of individuals within families: Do children have the same rights enjoyed by adults under the United States Constitution? What are the conditions under which the state is justified in intervening in the family in order to protect children and other family members? What standards should the state adopt to resolve disputes between parents and others over child or embryo custody? Can traditional ethical theory be used to resolve moral problems arising within families? Several solutions to each of these problems are presented and subjected to critical examination. Emerging from this study is a foundation for the development of a consistent theory of family law and family ethics that will stimulate and advance scholarship in the philosophy of law and social ethics