Full Description
Georges Gurvitch occupies an interesting position in the development of the sociology of law. In the period immediately preceding its quantitative expansion, he produced an explicitly conceived systematic theoretical intervention. What is particularly significant about Gurvitch's Sociology of Law at first appears as a contradiction. His work has had very little lasting impact on developments within the field of the sociology of law. At best, his existence is occasionally footnoted, but he engendered no great controversy or debate, nor does he have any active contemporary "disciples." Despite this lack of attention, Gurvitch work provides a concentrated expression of the theoretical problems that beset the field. The core of Gurvitch's sociology of law is at root a continuation of the efforts, apparent in the work of Max Weber, to resolve or integrate the dualism which is so markedly affecting law. It is the apparent dualism between law as a positive institution resting upon a framework of social power, while at the same time being a system of values or norms having some compelling internal strength and validity. Gurvitch's Sociology of Law shines as a beacon in the ongoing quest for a transformative vision of law. The new introduction by Alan Hunt discusses Gurvitch's place in the history of the sociology of law and the context in which his works should be placed. It also features a brief biography of the sociologist as well as a discussion of the central features of Gurvitch's sociology. This book will be of interest to students of sociology and law.
Contents
THE OBJECT AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF LAW, THE FORERUNNERS AND FOUNDERS OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF LAW. CONTEMPORARY CURRENTS, SECTION II. The Founders of the Sociology of Law , SECTION III. Some other present day currents, SYSTEMATIC SOCIOLOGY OF LAW (MICROSOCIOLOGY OF LAW) SECTION I. Forms of Sociality and Kinds of Law , SECTION II. Jural Sociology as a Description of the Depth-levels (The Layers of Law), DIFFERENTIAL SOCIOLOGY OF LAW (JURAL TYPOLOGY OF PARTICULAR GROUPINGS), SECTION I. Classification of Social Groupings, SECTION II. Differentiation of Frameworks of Law as Functions of Types of Groups, SECTION III. Sovereignty" and the Relations of Various Jural Orders, (LEGAL TYPOLOGY OF ALL-INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES.), GENETIC SOCIOLOGY OF LAW, SECTION I. Regularities as Tendencies of Change SECTION II. Factors, Intrinsic and Extrinsic, Conclusion - SOCIOLOGY OF LAW AND PHILOSOPHY OF LAW
