Hardback
Legal Doctrinal Scholarship
Legal Theory and the Inner Workings of a Doctrinal Discipline
9781788114059 Edward Elgar Publishing
Providing a comprehensive account of the often-misunderstood area of legal doctrinal scholarship, this incisive book offers a novel framing for conceptual legal theory and the functions of conceptual theorising in legal studies. It explores the ways in which a doctrinally oriented legal theory may provide methodological support to legal scholars, arguing that making adequate sense of the rational reconstruction of law is pivotal in delivering such active support.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contents
More Information
Providing a comprehensive account of the often-misunderstood area of legal doctrinal scholarship, this incisive book offers a novel framing for conceptual legal theory and the functions of conceptual theorising in legal studies. It explores the ways in which a doctrinally-oriented legal theory may provide methodological support to legal scholars, arguing that making adequate sense of the rational reconstruction of law is pivotal in delivering such active support.
The epistemological key to the central themes of the book is the idea that doctrinal disciplines are anchored in the concept of ‘doctrinal knowledge’, the practice-specific normative knowledge used to navigate institutionalised social practices. The distinctive epistemological and political philosophical grounding for legal doctrinal scholarship demonstrated in this book facilitates a rich analysis of the three core models of interdisciplinary engagement characteristic of legal scholarship.
Considering how legal doctrinal scholarship cultivates doctrinal knowledge by way of hermeneutic engagement with positive law, this thought-provoking book will be a key resource for students and scholars of constitutional law, criminal law, private law and international law. It will also be of benefit to legal theorists, philosophers and practitioners.
The epistemological key to the central themes of the book is the idea that doctrinal disciplines are anchored in the concept of ‘doctrinal knowledge’, the practice-specific normative knowledge used to navigate institutionalised social practices. The distinctive epistemological and political philosophical grounding for legal doctrinal scholarship demonstrated in this book facilitates a rich analysis of the three core models of interdisciplinary engagement characteristic of legal scholarship.
Considering how legal doctrinal scholarship cultivates doctrinal knowledge by way of hermeneutic engagement with positive law, this thought-provoking book will be a key resource for students and scholars of constitutional law, criminal law, private law and international law. It will also be of benefit to legal theorists, philosophers and practitioners.
Critical Acclaim
‘In this volume, Mátyás Bódig compellingly articulates a theory of legal doctrinal scholarship which deals with these questions and, more generally, with the epistemological and political implications of cultivating doctrinal knowledge about the law in the context of a modern state. Bódig’s theoretical strategy helps substantiate the assumption that rationality in law is a regulative ideal which legal scholars - and other participants - can live up to. Furthermore, it shows that the rational reconstruction of the law need not renounce its commitment to the legal sources. Although these are not the only ones, these achievements alone make Bódig’s work worthy of applause.’
– María I Besomi, The Edinburgh Law Review
‘Competent legal scholars need to be familiar with the right ways in which claims about the law can be vindicated, but this does not imply they possess great awareness of either the epistemic status or the political implications of their scholarship. These are important and complex matters, whose grasp would greatly improve both our understanding of legal scholarship and assist legal scholars in further refining their art. Professor Bodig’s Legal Doctrinal Scholarship faces up to the challenge of investigating the epistemology and politics of doctrinal scholarship with great skill and insight, providing a fresh perspective on a crucial aspect of the legal experience.’
– Claudio Michelon, University of Edinburgh, UK
‘The overwhelming majority of the work of legal scholars is doctrinal in nature: it analyses, defines, redefines and systematises legal concepts. The present volume offers a thorough, yet novel approach to how legal theory could and should help doctrinal research. Bódig illuminates convincingly the various epistemological and political philosophical preconditions of doctrinal legal scholarship, and how they differ in interdisciplinary research. It is an excellent read for all those legal scholars who wish to reflect theoretically on all these questions.’
– András Jakab, University of Salzburg, Austria
‘Bódig takes a fresh approach to the debate on legal scholarship by focusing on the epistemological profile of doctrinal research and connecting this with legal theory. This is the basis for identifying and addressing the challenges for interdisciplinary engagement. An original book providing much food for thought.’
– Wibren van der Burg, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
– María I Besomi, The Edinburgh Law Review
‘Competent legal scholars need to be familiar with the right ways in which claims about the law can be vindicated, but this does not imply they possess great awareness of either the epistemic status or the political implications of their scholarship. These are important and complex matters, whose grasp would greatly improve both our understanding of legal scholarship and assist legal scholars in further refining their art. Professor Bodig’s Legal Doctrinal Scholarship faces up to the challenge of investigating the epistemology and politics of doctrinal scholarship with great skill and insight, providing a fresh perspective on a crucial aspect of the legal experience.’
– Claudio Michelon, University of Edinburgh, UK
‘The overwhelming majority of the work of legal scholars is doctrinal in nature: it analyses, defines, redefines and systematises legal concepts. The present volume offers a thorough, yet novel approach to how legal theory could and should help doctrinal research. Bódig illuminates convincingly the various epistemological and political philosophical preconditions of doctrinal legal scholarship, and how they differ in interdisciplinary research. It is an excellent read for all those legal scholars who wish to reflect theoretically on all these questions.’
– András Jakab, University of Salzburg, Austria
‘Bódig takes a fresh approach to the debate on legal scholarship by focusing on the epistemological profile of doctrinal research and connecting this with legal theory. This is the basis for identifying and addressing the challenges for interdisciplinary engagement. An original book providing much food for thought.’
– Wibren van der Burg, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Contents
Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Legal theoretical parameters 3. Doctrinal knowledge and modern state law 4. Legal doctrinal scholarship 5. The challenge of interdisciplinary engagement for legal scholarship 6. Legal theoretical implications Index
