Jan G. Deutsch (1935-) is an American philosopher and legal scholar best known for his work on the
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
of corporate law, jurisprudence, and the cultural underpinnings of capitalist democracy. Deutsch's most recent book,
Power and Precedent (Vandeplas, 2007), is a summation of his work on
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurisprudenceJurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal philosophers, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first...
over the past few decades.
Deutsch is currently Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Emeritus and Professorial Lecturer at Yale Law School.
Jan G. Deutsch (1935-) is an American philosopher and legal scholar best known for his work on the
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
of corporate law, jurisprudence, and the cultural underpinnings of capitalist democracy. Deutsch's most recent book,
Power and Precedent (Vandeplas, 2007), is a summation of his work on
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurisprudenceJurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal philosophers, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first...
over the past few decades.
Biography
Deutsch is currently Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Emeritus and Professorial Lecturer at Yale Law School. He received a B.A., Ph.D., and J.D. from
YaleRapidMiner is an environment for machine learning and data mining experiments. It allows experiments to be made up of a large number of arbitrarily nestable operators, described in XML files which are created with RapidMiner's graphical user interface...
, after which he practiced law at a firm in Cleveland for a short time (with current Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia) before joining the Yale Law faculty in 1966. Deutsch's two most famous published works are
Selling the People’s Cadillac: The Edsel and Corporate Responsibility (Yale University Press, 1976), a diagnosis of social ills as seen through the lens of a failed automobile, and a 1969 article, “Neutrality, Legitimacy, and the Supreme Court: Some Intersections Between Law and Political Science,” 20 Stan. L. Rev. 169, on fundamental rights vs. opinions.
Deutsch has long been a controversial figure because of his outspoken criticisms of fellow legal academics. According to Deutsch, much of current legal discourse is but a self-justification for the existence of legal academics as a breed. This is seen by many as underlying Deutsch's refusal to publish his current work for over ten years.
Former President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
wrote, in his autobiography, of Deutsch: "He was the only man I'd ever met who ate all of an apple, including the core. He said all the good minerals were there. He was smarter than I was, so I tried it. Once in a while, I still do, with fond memories of Professor Deutsch."
See also
- American philosophy
American philosophy is the philosophical activity or output of Americans, both within the United States and abroad. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that while American philosophy lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can nevertheless be seen as both reflecting and...
- List of American philosophers