Enforcement of Morals - Softcover

Devlin, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0865978050 ISBN 13: 9780865978058

Verlag: Liberty Fund Inc, 2010

Inhaltsangabe

Are morals always relative? Are private actions—among consenting adults— always beyond the law? Or are there some behaviors which so weaken a society that common beliefs about right and wrong must be enforced to protect the common good?

In opposing the decriminalization of private acts of homosexuality in Britain, Patrick Devlin maintained that not only is it reasonable to allow popular morality to influence lawmaking, it is imperative: “ . . . For a society is not something that is kept together physically; it is held by the invisible bonds of common thought.”

Today, as divisive issues such as same-sex marriage and “don’t ask, don’t tell” confront our legislative, judicial, and executive branches, the views expressed by Devlin in The Enforcement of Morals resonate and reverberate anew.

Patrick Devlin (1905–1992) studied history and law at Cambridge University and became a successful lawyer.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Patrick Devlin (1905-92) studied history and law at Cambridge University and became a successful lawyer. He worked for various government ministries during the Second World War, and in 1948 became the second-youngest person ever appointed a High Court judge. He was knighted later that year. In 1957 the controversial Wolfenden report recommended decriminalisation of private acts of homosexuality, and two sides of the debate about the law's place in the enforcement of morals emerged.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Liberty Fund Inc
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2010
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0865978050
• ISBN 13: 9780865978058
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 139
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar