Wolff Lecture 2016: A Contemporary View on the Maimonidean Tort Theory—Law, Religion, Economics, and Morality

Maimonides (Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon), known in the Jewish tradition as the “Great Eagle,” is perhaps the most widely studied and best-known figure in Jewish history from medieval times until the present day.

This joint lecture and response will compare for the first time Maimonides’ tort theory with other pre-modern tort theories both in the Jewish and non-Jewish world, both in Maimonides’ time and prior to him. It will also compare tort theory to modern Western theories.

Two speakers will present the details of the rulings relating to tort and seek to establish a rational, systematic legal theory that allows for a full presentation and overview of Maimonides’ comprehensive conception of tort law, its objectives, and its foundations. This includes several surprising points of similarity between the theories of leading North American scholars and between significant elements of the Maimonidean theory that was conceived eight hundred years ago in Egypt.

The lecture will comprise a thoughtful dialogue between the speakers and one of the pioneers of the field of economic analysis of law, the Honorable Guido Calabresi.

Speakers

Professor Yuval Sinai
Professor of Law, Netanya Law School
Schusterman Visiting Professor of Law, Yale University (2013–2015)

Professor Benjamin Shmueli
Associate Professor of Law, Bar-Ilan University
Senior Research Scholar, Yale Law School (2013–2015)
Responder

Judge Guido Calabresi
United States Court of Appeals Judge for the Second Circuit
Former Dean of Yale Law School