Book launch 鈥� The Reasonable Person: A Legal Biography
The Paul-Andr茅 Cr茅peau Centre for Private and Comparative Law warmly invite you to attend the book launch of鈥疺alentin鈥疛eutner鈥檚鈥痭ew book, The Reasonable Person: A Legal Biography (Cambridge University Press, 2024).听
Attendance is open to students and lunch will be served.听
For more information, please contact louis.guilbault [at] mail.mcgill.ca.听听
Abstract
鈥痑rgues that the reasonable person is, at heart, an empathetic perspective-taking device, by tracing the standard of the reasonable person across time, legal fields and countries. Beginning with a review of imaginary legal figures in the legal systems of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the book explains why the common law鈥檚 reasonable person emerged amidst the British industrialisation under the influence of Scottish Enlightenment thinking. Following the figure into colonial courts, onto battlefields and into self-driving cars, the book contends that the reasonable person invites judges, jury-members, and lawyers to take another person鈥檚 perspective when assessing their own or another person鈥檚 conduct. The perspective of another is taken by means of empathy, by feeling what others might feel in a particular situation. Thus construed, the figure of the reasonable person can help us make more accurate judgments in a diverse world.听
Speaker
Valentin Jeutner is an Associate Professor of Law at Lund University. Holding degrees in law (Oxford (BA), Georgetown (LLM), Cambridge (PhD)) and theology (Lund (MTh), M眉nster (PhD)), his research explores foundational legal questions. Before coming to Lund, he was a PostDoc at Oxford and a policy advisor at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin.鈥疕e is also a licensed attorney (New York) and advises states, companies and organisations.听
We look forward to having you among us!听
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