Thomas More Institute

Category Archives: Human Life

Published on
18 November 2013

The Excessive Simplicity of Legal Positivism and of Multiculturalism

Posted in Conscience, Culture, Human Life, Human Rights, Legal Affairs, Moral Philosophy, Morality in Public, Virtue

‘In any legal system, whether a given norm is legally valid, and hence whether it forms part of the law of that system, depends on its sources, not its merits.’This working definition of ‘legal positivism’ has a certain notoriety, even while it provokes disagreement. This legal tradition is popularly understood, and with some rationale, to […]

Published on
9 October 2013

Bureaucracy, Parental Abuse and Conscience

Posted in Civil Liberties, Conscience, Culture, Human Life, Human Rights, Morality in Public

In the aftermath of horrible deaths at parental hands of Baby P., Daniel Pelka, Hamzah Khan and Keanu Williams, questions are naturally being asked as to what more might have been done by way of prevention. Unsurprisingly, the parents of these poor boys have been sentenced to prison. On paper perhaps, and technically, the local […]

Published on
30 April 2013

After Dr. Kermit Gosnell the Abortion Debate has come Full Circle

Posted in Abortion, Human Life, Human Rights, Moral Philosophy

We have blogged before about the story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell the Philadelphia-based abortionist arrested for murder but, although his trial is ongoing, and the case against him horrendous news networks paid less than scant attention to the proceedings until 72 congressmen and women wrote to 3 of the largest television channels decrying their lack […]

Published on
13 September 2012

Nick Clegg and the ‘Bigot’ Row

Posted in British Politics, Culture, Human Life, Moral Philosophy, Same-Sex Marriage, Uncategorized

For many supporters of same-sex marriage (SSM) in the UK their opponents are ‘bigots’. They are entitled to their opinion but the epithet in question is, to parody Samuel Beckett, fast becoming a word in search of some meaning. The assumption is that there are people who want something, and that there is no problem […]

Published on
5 September 2012

‘Darwinian Honesty’, and Vegas

Posted in Culture, Human Life, Moral Philosophy, Uncategorized

There is a school of thought that holds we are at our most honest, and most essentially human, when at our most animal level. This, at least, is a suggestion made by Marc Cooper in his book, The Last Honest Place in America, about high-stakes poker games in Las Vegas. ‘Its thesis’, writes David Flusfeder, […]

Published on
7 March 2012

A Case for Repeal of the Abortion Act?

Posted in Abortion, British Politics, Human Life, Legal Affairs, Religion, Social Commentary

A nation is governed –and partly defined — by the rules and regulations on its statute book. Laws are supposed to regulate so as to ensure fairness and justice, as well as to prohibit behaviours deemed contrary to the good of society. They have a purpose: development and protection of the common good within the […]

Published on
24 February 2012

Sex-Selective Abortion: The Failed Autonomy of Modern Man

Posted in Abortion, British Politics, Civil Liberties, Conscience, Human Life, Human Rights, Moral Philosophy, Social Commentary, Virtue

From a guest blogger: The news that some private abortion clinics in Britain may be carrying out here the sex-selective abortions which are horrifyingly common in parts of Asia is no real surprise to us at Blog for All Seasons. In today’s society each person is seen as an autonomous individual who cannot make authoritative […]