Café Sci - The Dignity of the Dead in Scots Law

Dr Jonathan Ainslie is taking the stage at The Sir Duncan Rice Library on Wednesday 18 November for a talk titled The Dignity of the Dead in Scots Law. It runs from 18:00 to 19:00, and it's part of the University of Aberdeen's November Café Sci series, which brings science and academic research out of the labs and into the public square.

The talk is presented on behalf of Death & Law: Interdisciplinary Explorations, a research project based at the university. The subject is exactly what the title suggests: how the law responds to questions about death, dignity, and remembrance. It's the kind of thing we rarely think about until we have to, and the talk looks at how Scots law handles those moments. One of the central questions Ainslie raises is whose wishes should count when we're gone — a question that sits at the heart of how we treat the dead and how we remember them.

It's an open invitation to the public, so you don't need to be a lawyer or a researcher to get your head around it. The whole thing is hosted by the university's Public Engagement with Research Team, with support from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and it's designed as a conversation rather than a lecture. If you've ever wondered how the law balances the wishes of the deceased against the decisions of those left behind, this is a good place to start.

It's held at The Sir Duncan Rice Library, the university's main library, on Wednesday 18 November from 18:00 to 19:00. Online booking is available, so it's worth grabbing a spot in advance if you're planning to go.