Study of Western Legal Philosophy Trends in the 20th Century

Author: Zhang Wenxian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Strive to fully utilize primary sources, determine the "authentic" meaning of Western philosophical schools in a factual manner, without arbitrarily selecting or interpreting materials. Neither "interpreting the Six Classics through myself" nor "interpreting myself through the Six Classics," opposing pragmatism; neither simply affirming everything nor simply negating everything. Persist in using a critical eye toward every viewpoint, every legal scholar, and every legal philosophy school, attempting to achieve profound understanding through sharp criticism. Conduct comparative analysis of Western legal philosophy schools and pay attention to combining the comparison of theoretical viewpoints and theoretical systems with the comparison of their political ideological forms and social impacts. Both historically reconstruct and historically evaluate the theories and methods of Western legal philosophy. —Zhang Wenxian
Throughout the entire process of the research, the author consciously adheres to using Marxism as a guide to handle Western philosophy as a legal theoretical resource, employing Marxist legal principles and methodology as the basic standards for evaluating Western legal thought. On this basis, the author maintains the following research attitudes and methods:
First, a scientific attitude, which involves striving to fully utilize primary sources, determining the "authentic" meaning of Western legal philosophy schools in a factual manner, without arbitrarily selecting or interpreting materials; neither "interpreting the Six Classics through myself" nor "interpreting myself through the Six Classics," opposing pragmatism; neither simply affirming everything nor simply negating everything.
Second, an attitude of examination, reflection, and critique, which means not blindly accepting or passively receiving; persisting in using a critical eye toward every viewpoint, every legal scholar, and every legal philosophy school, attempting to achieve profound understanding through sharp criticism.
Third, a comparative method, which involves conducting comparative analysis of Western legal philosophy schools and paying attention to combining the comparison of theoretical viewpoints and theoretical systems with the comparison of their political ideologies and social impacts.
Fourth, a historical method, which involves both historically reconstructing and historically evaluating the theories and methods of Western legal philosophy.
Fifth, a combination of macro-comprehensive and micro-analytical approaches. Macro-comprehensive research primarily focuses on the historical, social, cultural, and practical contexts, political positions, theoretical trends, and general characteristics of various legal philosophy schools. Micro-analysis primarily targets specific categories and viewpoints.
Sixth, an analytical structure that first decomposes Western legal philosophy schools into trends, theoretical hotspots, or fundamental theories, and then studies them one by one.