Legal theorist Ronald Dworkin dies at age 81
Legal theorist Ronald Dworkin has died at the age of 81.
The cause of death was leukemia, report the Associated Press, the New York Times and the New York University School of Law, where Dworkin was a faculty member. He was also emeritus professor at University College London.
The Times describes Dworkin as “a legal philosopher and public intellectual of bracingly liberal views who insisted that morality is the touchstone of constitutional interpretation.” NYU says Dworkin was “a brilliant conversationalist with a clear point of view and purpose” who helped transform the law school. His landmark text is Taking Rights Seriously, according to NYU and the Legal Theory Blog.
The Atlantic Wire also has coverage, with links to several obituaries. The story has this quote from Dworkin in the New York Review of Books: “In my own view, someone who leads a boring, conventional life without close friendships or challenges or achievements, marking time to his grave, has not had a good life, even if he thinks he has and even if he has thoroughly enjoyed the life he has had.”
Hat tip to How Appealing. Updated at 11:40 a.m. to include information from the Atlantic Wire.
