Jeremy Waldron (; born 13 October 1953) is a New Zealand legal philosopher. He holds a University Professorship at the
New York University School of Law, is affiliated with the
New York University Department of Philosophy, and was formerly the
Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at
All Souls College,
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. Waldron also holds an adjunct professorship at
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...
. Waldron is regarded as one of the world's leading legal and political philosophers.
Early life and education
Waldron attended
Southland Boys' High School, and then went on to study at the
University of Otago
The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...
, New Zealand, where he graduated with a
B.A. in 1974 and an
LL.B. in 1978. He later studied for a D.Phil. at
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...
, under legal philosopher
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American legal philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at ...
and political theorist
Alan Ryan; Waldron graduated in 1986.
Career
He taught legal and political philosophy at
Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
(1975–78),
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...
(1980–82), the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
(1983–87), the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program at
Berkeley Law (1986–96),
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
(1996–97), and
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City.
The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
(1997–2006). He has also been a visiting professor at
Cornell (1989–90),
Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
(1991–92), and
Columbia (1995) Universities. At
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, he teaches
Rule of Law
The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
,
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
, seminars on
Property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
and Human
Dignity
Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good.
As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...
and regularly hosts the Colloquium on Legal, Social and Political Philosophy, founded by Ronald Dworkin and Thomas Nagel in 1987 and convened by Liam Murphy,
Samuel Scheffler, and Waldron.
Waldron gave the second series of Seeley Lectures at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in 1996, the 1999 Carlyle Lectures at
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, the spring 2000 University Lecture at
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City.
The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
, the Wesson Lectures at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 2004, the Storrs Lectures at
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
in 2007, and the
Gifford Lectures at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
in 2015. He was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1998. In 2005, Waldron received an honorary doctorate from the University of Otago, his
alma mater. Waldron was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 2015. In 2019, a Professorial Chair in Jurisprudence was created in his name at the University of Otago.
Legal and philosophical views
Waldron is a
liberal and a
normative
Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A Norm (philosophy), norm in this sense means a standard for evaluatin ...
legal positivist. He has written extensively on the analysis and justification of private property and on the political and legal philosophy of
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
. He is an opponent of
judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...
of legislation, and of
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
, both of which he believes to be in tension with democratic principles. He believes that
hate speech
Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
should not be protected by the
First Amendment. Waldron has also criticised analytic
legal philosophy for its failure to engage with the questions addressed by
political theory
Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...
. His later work is devoted to providing a non-religious and non-
Kantian concept of human
dignity
Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good.
As an extension of the Enlightenment- ...
, based on a thought experiment of leveling up all human beings to the high rank of nobility or aristocracy, thus constituting a single rank or caste. He has been working on this topic since he gave the Tanner Lectures on the subject in 2009, published in 2012 as ''Dignity, Rank and Rights''.
Criticism of judicial review
Sandrine Baume has identified Jeremy Waldron and
Bruce Ackerman as leading critics of the "compatibility of judicial review with the very principles of democracy". Baume identified
John Hart Ely alongside Dworkin as the foremost defenders of this principle in recent years, while the opposition to this principle of "compatibility" were identified as Bruce Ackerman and Waldron. In contrast to Waldron and Ackerman, Dworkin was a long-time advocate of a moral reading of the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
, whose lines of support he sees as strongly associated with enhanced versions of judicial review in the federal government. A staunch defender of the principle of democratic legislation, in an article titled "The Core of the Case against Judicial Review", Waldron argued for a limited role for judicial review in a robust democratic government. Waldron asserts that there is no inherent advantage to a judiciary's protection of rights than to a legislature's if (1) there is a broadly democratic political system with appropriate suffrage and process, (2) there is a system of courts somewhat insulated from popular pressure and engaged in judicial review, (3) there is a general commitment to rights, and (4) there is disagreement as to the content and extent of rights. Even so, Waldron does not argue against the existence of judicial review, which may be appropriate when there is institutional dysfunction. In this case, the defense of judicial review compatible with democracy is limited to remedies for that dysfunction and are neither unlimited nor universal. Waldron thus places his view of judicial review in the tradition of Justice
Harlan Fiske Stone.
Affinity with judicial minimalism
In a review of a 2015 book by
Cass Sunstein
Cass Robert Sunstein (born September 21, 1954) is an American legal scholar known for his work in U.S. constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and behavioral economics. He is also ''The New York Times'' best-selling author of ...
, Waldron stated that between the polarity represented by judges who can be "heroic" in the interpretation of their judgments and those who abstain, that his preference would be sympathetic to a position which could be described as "judicial minimalism". Waldron states his examples of such judges as including
Sandra Day O'Connor,
Ruth Ginsburg, and
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, advocating judicial restraint.
Born in Vienna, Frankfurter im ...
.
Personal life
Waldron's longtime partner is
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City.
The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
professor
Carol Sanger.
Publications
Books
* 1984. ''Theories of Rights'', edited vol.
* 1988. ''The Right to Private Property''. ,
* 1988. ''Nonsense Upon Stilts: Bentham, Burke and Marx on the Rights of Man'', edited vol.
* 1990. ''The Law: Theory and Practice in British Politics''.
* 1993. ''Liberal Rights: Collected Papers 1981–91''.
* 1999. ''The Dignity of Legislation'', Seeley Lectures. , (Portuguese translation)
* 1999. ''Law and Disagreement''.
* 2002. ''God, Locke and Equality''.
* 2010. ''Torture, Terror, and Trade-Offs: Philosophy for the White House.''
* 2012. ''The Harm in Hate Speech'', Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures.
* 2012. ''"Partly Laws Common To All Mankind": Foreign Law in American Courts.''
* 2012. ''The Rule of Law and the Measure of Property'',
Hamlyn Lectures.
* 2012. ''Dignity, Rank and Rights'' (Meir Dan Cohen: editor), Oxford University Press.
* 2016. ''Political Political Theory'', Harvard University Press.
* 2017. ''One Another's Equals: The Basis of Human Equality'', Harvard University Press.
Articles
* 2001, "Normative (or Ethical) Positivism" in Jules Coleman (ed.), ''Hart's Postscript: Essays on the Postscript to The Concept of Law''. New York: Oxford University Press.
* 2003, "Who is my Neighbor?: Humanity and Proximity," ''
The Monist 86''.
* 2004, "Settlement, Return, and the Supersession Thesis," ''
Theoretical Inquiries in Law 5''.
* 2004, "Terrorism and the Uses of Terror,"
The Journal of Ethics, Vol. 8, No. 1, Terrorism (2004) pp. 5–35.
* 2005, "Torture and Positive Law: Jurisprudence for the White House," ''
Columbia Law Review 105''.
* 2006, "The Core of the Case Against Judicial Review," ''
Yale Law Journal
''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...
115''.
* 2009, "Dignity and Defamation: The Visibility of Hate"
". 2009 Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures.
* 2012, "Bicameralism and the Separation of Powers," ''Current Legal Problems 31''.
References
External links
NYU Law Faculty Profile
NYU's Big Raid''
New York Observer'', 13 March 2006 (on Waldron's appointment at NYU).
Debate with
John Yoo on torture.
Waldron archivefrom ''
The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...
''
*
NYU's Waldron to Take Up Chichele Chair at Oxford on Half-Time Basis Leiter Reports, 17 December 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldron, Jeremy
1953 births
Living people
Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford
Christian philosophers
New York University faculty
New Zealand expatriates in the United States
20th-century New Zealand lawyers
20th-century New Zealand philosophers
New Zealand political philosophers
People educated at Southland Boys' High School
Philosophers of law
Oceanian social liberals
Chichele Professors of Social and Political Theory
University of Otago alumni
21st-century New Zealand philosophers
20th-century New Zealand writers
20th-century New Zealand male writers
21st-century New Zealand writers
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Legal scholars of the University of Oxford
New York University School of Law faculty
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Columbia Law School faculty
Locke scholars
Members of the American Philosophical Society