Laurence Houlgate
Laurence D. Houlgate (born 1938 in Pasadena, California) is an American philosopher and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he also served as department chair. He works mainly in the history of Western philosophy, social ethics, philosophy of law, and political philosophy. He is known for helping develop early ideas about the moral foundations of children's rights and the ethics of family relationships. After retiring from teaching, he wrote eight study guides for beginners on classical philosophers and a law-focused textbook.
Education and early career
Houlgate earned a B.A. in Philosophy from California State University, Los Angeles in 1960, becoming the first CSULA graduate in philosophy. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, before transferring to UCLA, where he earned his M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1967) in philosophy under Herbert Morris. His Ph.D. dissertation examined excuses in criminal law. He also studied with H.L.A. Hart as a visiting professor at UCLA.
He began his teaching career as a lecturer at California State University, Fullerton, then joined the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1966. He spent a year as a visiting professor at Reed College (1972–1973) and was an Associate Professor at George Mason University (1973–1979). In 1979 he moved to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, becoming a full professor in 1980 and serving as department chair from 1990 to 1995. He retired from full-time teaching in 2002 and continued part-time until 2016. He has been honored with Cal Poly’s Faculty Scholar of the Year award.
Publications and later work
Houlgate’s early work appeared in philosophy of law, including his Ph.D. dissertation on excuses in criminal law. While a fellow at the University of Virginia School of Law, he researched the legal rights of children and published one of the first major books on the topic, The Child and the State. He later explored the foundations of family law and the ethics of family life, producing the monograph Family and State, a reader on family ethics (Morals, Marriage and Parenthood), and a collection of his writings (Children’s Rights, State Intervention, Custody And Divorce: Contradictions in Ethics And Family Law).
In retirement, he created eight study guides for classical philosophers, published under The Smart Student’s Guides to Philosophical Classics. He also wrote Philosophy, Law and Family: A New Introduction to the Philosophy of Law (2016), a textbook based on family law cases.
Political activity
Houlgate ran as a Democratic candidate for the California State Assembly in 2000 and again in 2002, but was not elected. He is married to Torre Houlgate-West.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:27 (CET).