Enforcement of Morals

Patrick Devlin

ISBN 10: 0865978050 / ISBN 13: 9780865978058

Published by Liberty Fund Inc, US, 2010

About this Item

The limits of individual freedom within society -- the boundaries of the public and the private in the realm of morals, and the point at which the law may enter -- are the core concern of these seven essays by prominent British jurist Lord Patrick Devlin.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780865978058

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Enforcement of Morals
• Publisher: Liberty Fund Inc, US
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0865978050
• ISBN 13: 9780865978058
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 294 grams

About this title

Synopsis

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.