-
81Hearing the child. 2009.Given that in our view the child has a fundamental right to be heard in all collective deliberative processes determining his or her future, we set out, firstly, what is required of such processes to respect this right – namely that the child's authentic voice is heard and makes a difference – and, secondly, the distance between this ideal and practice exemplified in the work of child welfare and child protection workers in Norway and the UK, chiefly in their display of an instrumental attitude …Read more
-
99The Future of the FamilyEthics and Social Welfare 6 (2): 132-142. 2012.Much is said about the decline of the family, often in connection with the prevalence of certain social problems. In this article I consider two kinds of fear: (i) that the traditional family is disappearing; (ii) that new forms of family emerging are, in some or other respect, not worthy of the title. In themselves, neither fear, I argue, should give rise to pressing ethical concerns as such. On fear (i): if by ?traditional family? we mean one whose adult members are heterosexuals, normally mar…Read more
-
79Marxism and existentialism: the political philosophy of Sartre and Merleau-PontyBlackstaff Press. 1980.This book undertakes a systematic comparative analysis of the political philosophies of Sartre and mealeau-Ponty between 1929 and 1960. It critically explores their pre-war discovery of Husserl, Hegel and Heidegger; It records the impact of the second world war and the subsequent founding of Les Temps Modernes. It also reviews their post-war writing, both journalistic and philosophical. Their eventual divergence of views is hows as developing, against the background of world events, from their i…Read more
-
Rape: A Philosophical Investigation; Carnal Knowledge: Rape on Trial (review)Radical Philosophy 81. 1997.
-
513. Family LawIn Jean-Christophe Merle (ed.), Johann Gottlieb Fichte: Grundlage des Naturrechts, De Gruyter. pp. 169-178. 2016.
-
369The wrong of rapePhilosophical Quarterly 57 (228). 2007.If rape is evaluated as a serious wrong, can it also be defined as non-consensual sex (NCS)? Many do not see all instances of NCS as seriously wrongful. I argue that rape is both properly defined as NCS and properly evaluated as a serious wrong. First, I distinguish the hurtfulness of rape from its wrongfulness; secondly, I classify its harms and characterize its essential wrongfulness; thirdly, I criticize a view of rape as merely ‘sex minus consent’; fourthly, I criticize mistaken attempts to …Read more
-
50Letting babies dieJournal of Medical Ethics 33 (3): 125-126. 2007.Prolonging neonatal lifeThe paradox that medicine’s success breeds medicine’s problems is well known to readers of the Journal of Medical Ethics. Advances in neonatal medicine have worked wonders. Not long ago, extremely premature birth babies, or those born with very serious health problems, would inevitably have died. Today, neonatologists can resuscitate babies born at ever-earlier stages of gestation. And very ill babies also benefit from advances in neonatal intensive care. Infant lives can…Read more
-
27“A Nod's as Good as a Wink”: Consent, Convention, and Reasonable Belief: David ArchardLegal Theory 3 (3): 273-290. 1997.Consider the following examples of behavior by Smith: 1. Smith, seated at her restaurant table, gives an order to the waiter; 2. Smith gets into a cab and names a destination; 3. Smith agrees to Jones's suggestion that they go back to Jones's apartment for a few drinks; 4. Smith casts her vote in some election. In each of these instances what can Smith be understood as consenting to? Is she consenting to pay the bill for whatever meal she orders; pay the fare for the journey to her named destina…Read more
-
22Democratic procedures and liberal consensus by George Klosko oxford university press, 2000, £27.50Philosophy 75 (4): 613-626. 2000.
-
47The Moral and Political Status of Children (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2002.The book contains original essays by distinguished moral and political philosophers on the topic of the moral and political status of children. It covers the themes of children's rights, parental rights and duties, the family and justice, and civic education.
-
35Contested Commodities: The trouble with Trade in Sex, Children, Body Parts, and Other Things, Margaret Jane Radin. Harvard University Press, 1996, xiv + 279 pages (review)Economics and Philosophy 14 (2): 362. 1998.
-
1Cultural Pluralism and Moral Knowledge; Explaining Political Disagreement (review)Radical Philosophy 74. 1995.
-
-
Queen's University, BelfastSchool of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and PoliticsRetired faculty