The Law as a Moral Agent

This book examines the controversial and repercussive contention that an objective of the law should be to promote personal morality - to make people ethically better. It surveys a number of domains, including criminal law, tort law, contract law, family law, and medical law (particularly the realm of moral enhancement technologies) asking for each: (a) Does the existing law seek to promote personal morality? (b) If so, what is the account of morality promoted, and what is the substantive content? (c) Does it work? and (d) Is this a legitimate objective?

A provocative and controversial questioning of the role of the law Of obvious relevance to academic and practising lawyers in many intellectual and geographical jurisdictions (it interrogates their whole raison d'etre) and of interest to professional philosophers, those interested in the history of ideas, and general readers Accessibly and engagingly written, with contempt for technical jargon

Autorentext

Charles Foster is a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford. He is also a practising barrister.

Jonathan Herring is Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Exeter College, University of Oxford.

Inhalt

Introduction.- Contract and the law of property.- Tort.- Family law.- Criminal law.- Medical law.- Moral enhancement.- Epilogue

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