A Science of Law: Legal Method and Law Teaching

Abstract:     
The scientific method can be used in law and should be applied to attain justice. A variety of methods which are, have, and/or can be used in the elaboration of legal science. Legal science is one of the human sciences. Human sciences are possible as a description of general tendencies, a probabalistic description of social reality. The dialectical method attains the closest possible approximation to the truth through the comparison of different, usually competing, positions. Dialectical synthesis, terminological analysis, and teleology can all be used effectively in the elaboration of law. Legal science in turn can serve to shape substantive justice. It is the task of reform minded jurists to ensure that law serves justice.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 22

Keywords: pedagogy, law, science, legal science, dialectics, analysis, synthesis, inferencing, logic, positivism, natural law

JEL Classification: I20, K10, K19

working papers series