Do the dead have rights? In a persuasive argument, Don Herzog makes the case that the deceasedās interests should be protected
This is a delightfully deceptive works that start out with a simple, seemingly arcane questionācan you libel or slander the dead?āand develops it outward, tackling larger and larger implications, until it ends up straddling the borders between law, culture, philosophy, and the meaning of life. A full answer to this question requires legal scholar Don Herzog to consider what tort law is actually designed to protect, what differences death makesāand what differences it doesnātāand why we value what we value. Herzog is one of those rare scholarly writers who can make the most abstract argument compelling and entertaining.
Don HerzogĀ teaches law and political theory at the University of Michigan. He lives in Ann Arbor.