Modern Western Jurisprudence

Author: Shen Zongling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: This book studies the fundamental theories of law in Western countries in the 20th century, particularly the theories of jurisprudence or legal philosophy since World War II. It discusses, analyzes, and critiques the major schools and important theories of its key figures during this period. The book is divided into five parts—Introduction, New Natural Law and Value-Oriented Jurisprudence, Analytical Positivism, Sociological Jurisprudence, and Other Schools of Jurisprudence—with a total of 28 chapters. The author first offered the course "Modern Western Legal Philosophy" to undergraduate students at the Law Department of Peking University in 1977 and has been teaching "Selected Readings in Modern Western Legal Philosophy" to graduate students since 1979. A concise edition of the author's work was published by the Law Press in 1983. This book is based on that 1983 edition but has undergone significant revisions and expansions, including the inclusion of theories not discussed in the earlier book, especially those popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It serves as both an academic monograph and a textbook or reference for relevant courses. The author sincerely thanks the younger generation of scholars who have engaged in or are currently engaged in the study and teaching of modern Western jurisprudence, particularly Zhang Wenxian of the Law School at Jilin University and Qian Haibin, Wang Chenguang, and Wang Jingshan of the Law Department at Peking University, for their academic and spiritual support in the compilation of this book. The author also deeply appreciates the colleagues at Peking University Press for our excellent collaboration. The author is also grateful to the National Social Science Foundation for providing financial support. Shen Zongling, May 1991