Eric Andrew Posner (/ˈpoʊznər/; born December 5, 1965)[1] is an American lawyer and legal scholar. As a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School, Posner has taught international law, contract law, and bankruptcy, among other areas. He is the son of retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner.
In June 2013, Posner and Jameel Jaffer, fellow at the Open Society Foundations, participated in The New York TimesRoom for Debate series.[13] Posner responded to concerns about expanded National Security Agency (NSA) programs that vacuum information about the private lives of American citizens. Those who oppose the surveillance claim that the collection and storing of unlimited metadata is a highly invasive form of surveillance of citizens' communications. Posner claimed that Americans obtain the services they want by disclosing private information to strangers such as doctors and insurance companies. Posner in 2013 argued that since 2001 there had not been a single instance of "war-on-terror-related surveillance in which the government used information obtained for security purposes to target a political opponent, dissenter or critic".[13]
In 2015, Posner co-founded the book review The New Rambler.[14] Posner's position concerning the heightened standing of the executive branch of government was criticized in 2016 by Jeremy Waldron in his book Political Political Theory as not sufficiently sensitive to issue of legislative priorities.[15] In 2018, Posner co-wrote an article advocating a system of market-oriented, privately sponsored work visas as a supplement to U.S. immigration policy.[16]
Posner has argued for increased attention towards the role of emotions in legal theory. In 2001, Posner's Law and the Emotions detailed the implications of emotional decision making in legal decisions and procedures, as well as in rational choice theory. In particular, he argues that the American legal system's deeply rooted basis in cognitive science often eschews, or has yet to develop, significant acknowledgement of the role emotions play in criminology and contract theory.[17] For example, a person who commits a criminal act while in an emotional state may receive a harsher or lighter punishment depending on whether they were motivated by hatred or shame. Indeed, consideration of the emotional component is often systemic or even codified, but any analysis thereof has been historically ignored.[18]
Posner claims that a person who is in an emotional state rarely acts on reflex, instead remaining in control of their actions. Though the actions of an individual may be colored by a changing set of values, abilities, and preferences particular to their emotional state, these actions nonetheless remain guided in a procedural manner. Therefore, the mere observation that an individual's preferences are usually consistent while calm does not invalidate the role of rationality throughout the more temporary preferences of each emotional state. In other words, while emotional preferences modify the action tendency of any set of possible behaviors, the cognitive decision to commit to an action is nevertheless bound by reason.[19]
"Understanding the Resemblance Between Modern and Traditional Customary International Law", 40 Va. J. Int'l Law 639 (2000; with Jack L. Goldsmith)
"Law and the Emotions", 89 Georgetown Law Journal 1977 (2001)
"Moral and Legal Rhetoric in International Relations: A Rational Choice Perspective", 31 J. Legal Stud. S115 (2002; with Jack Goldsmith)
"Do States Have a Moral Obligation to Comply with International Law?", 55 Stan. L. Rev. 1901 (2003)
"A Theory of the Laws of War", 70 U. Chi. L. Rev. 297 (2003)
"Transnational Legal Process and the Supreme Court's 2003–2004 Term: Some Skeptical Observations", 12 Tulsa Journal of Comparative and International Law 23 (2004)
"Judicial Independence in International Tribunals", 93 Cal. L. Rev. 1 (2005; with John Yoo)
"Optimal War and Jus ad Bellum", 93 Georgetown L.J. 993 (2005) (with Alan Sykes)
"Terrorism and the Laws of War", 5 Chi. J. Int'l L. 423 (2005)
"International Law and the Disaggregated State", 32 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 797 (2005)
"International Law and the Rise of China", 7 Chi. J. Int'l L. 1 (2006; with John Yoo)
"International Law: A Welfarist Approach", 73 U. Chi. L. Rev. 487 (2006)
"An Economic Analysis of State and Individual Responsibility Under International Law", Amer. L. & Econ. Rev. (forthcoming; with Alan Sykes)
"Deference to the Executive in the United States after September 11: Congress, the Courts, and the Office of Legal Counsel," 35 Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 213 (2012).
^Posner, Eric (2001). "Law and the Emotions". Georgetown Law Journal. 89. University of Chicago: 1977–2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2023.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
