Professor Jonathan Herring co-authors two new publications exploring relationships, empathy and the law

Exeter College’s DM Wolfe-Clarendon Fellow in Law and Professor of Law, Jonathan Herring, has co-authored two new publications exploring the importance of human relationships and empathy in legal thinking. Both works were written in collaboration with former Visiting Fellows of Exeter College, Professors Beverley Clough and Claudia Olk. 

The article Disability, relationships and a right against social deprivation, co-authored with Professor Beverley Clough, examines loneliness and social isolation, particularly among people with intellectual disabilities. It highlights the importance of meaningful relationships and explores how the right to protection against social deprivation can be understood from a disability perspective. 

The research considers the significance of social connections for individual wellbeing and raises questions about how the law can recognise and respond to the relational needs of people with intellectual disabilities. 

Professor Herring’s second publication, Empathy, Literature and the Law, is a chapter in the book Key Legal Concepts in Law and Literature, co-authored with Professor Claudia Olk. The chapter examines the role of empathy in legal decision-making, asking whether judges should demonstrate empathy towards those involved in cases. 

Drawing on an analysis of empathy in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the chapter explores how empathy may be important in certain legal contexts, while being less appropriate in others. 

Together, the publications contribute to wider discussions about the relationship between law, human experience and the importance of understanding individual circumstances.