Artikel

De vroege rechtssociologie

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Abstract

The early sociology of law - The ascendency of the sociology of law fits in with a social and an intellectual development, which have, each in their own way, prepared the academic institutionalization of this discipline. On the one hand there was in society, in the second half of the twentieth century, an increasing criticism against the legal institutions, which not only facilitated the origination of the sociology of law, but also offered, to a large extent, the problems which the social scientists would tackle : problems concerning the social function of law, about which indeed doubts had arisen. On the other hand the discussion about it faced a rather defeatist intellectual tradition, which did not leave to law much room as a dynamic force of social change. The academics considered law much more as the product of society rather than as its driving force. And with that the tone for the early sociology of law was largely set; at the centre of the sociological approach of law there would be the question as to the place law occupies in society, the question therefore how law actually functions in social life. The present article is, for its major part, devoted to a retrospective of some points of view in this discussion. However, one cannot state that this has been the only theme which has occupied the early sociologists of law. The fact that social-scientific interest in law, already in an early stage, encompassed a wide range, has been thoroughly illustrated by the multitude of subjects an author like Vilhelm Aubert has dealt with. By presenting some of the most diverse subjects to which his research was directed, we not only emphasize his personal variousness, but we illustrate, at the same time, also the variousness of the field as such.

How to Cite:

Vandekerckhove, L., (1996) “De vroege rechtssociologie”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 41(2), 147–166. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95232