法理论:历史形成、学科属性及其中国化

要破除部门法学因过度教义化形成的学科壁垒,不能走向要求法学无条件地向其他社会科学全面开放的极端,而应该深化和发展法理论研究。通过历史的梳理可以发现,科学范式的转换、传统法哲学的衰落和部门法学的内在诉求构成了法理论研究形成的背景。它发端于历史法学时期,以19世纪的法学百科全书运动为其先声,而其作为独立的法学分支学科则经历了创始、成熟和多样化三个阶段,从一开始的分析法理论逐渐发展为包括多种进路在内的宽泛领域。法理论是一门从内部观察者的视角出发,通过研究基本法律概念来致力于法律知识的一般化与体系化的关于实在法的规范学科,包括法的理论与法律科学理论两部分。它对部门法学发挥着体系构造、学说批判和知识筛选功能,构成部门法学之知识和方法的法理。当下中国的法理论研究,要在兼容并蓄的基础上与部门法学形成良性互动,提升研究的整体自洽性和一般性,加强分析法理论和社会法理论方法间的分工与合作。

Legal Theory: Historical Formation,Discipline Attributes and Sinicization

To break the discipline barrier caused by excessively dogmatic branch laws,we should deepen and develop the research on legal theory,rather than demanding the unconditional openness of the legal science to other social sciences.A historical study reveals that,three elements constitute the background of the research on legal theory.They are the shift of scientific paradigm,the decline of traditional legal philosophy and the inner demand of branch laws.Originated from the historical jurisprudence and heralded by the juristic encyclopedia movement in the 19th century,legal theory,as an independent branch of legal science,has gone through three stages of development,namely initiation,maturation and diversification,gradually evolved from the analytical legal theory(general doctrine of law)into a comprehensive domain with various approaches.Legal theory is a normative discipline about positive law,which devotes itself to generalization and systematization of legal knowledge from the viewpoint of an inner observer and through the study on fundamental legal concepts.It consists of the theory of law and the theory of legal science,and has such functions as systematical construction,legal doctrines criticism and knowledge screening in relation to branch laws,thus can be deemed as jurisprudence for branch laws in the sense of both knowledge and method.Nowadays legal theory in China had its unique development history and irreplaceable importance.It should form an interactive relationship with branch laws on the basis of inclusiveness,enhance the integral self-consistency and generality in studies,and strengthen the cooperation and division of labor between methods of analytical legal theory and those of social legal theory.