Schools of Jurisprudence
Schools of Jurisprudence
Schools of Jurisprudence
Schools of Jurisprudence
Formalism vs. Realism
Apart from different types of jurisprudence, different schools of
jurisprudence exist. Formalism, or conceptualism, treats law like math or
science. Formalists believe that a judge identifies the relevant legal
principles, applies them to the facts of a case, and logically deduces a rule
that will govern the outcome of the dispute. In contrast, proponents of legal
realism believe that most cases before courts present hard questions that
judges must resolve by balancing the interests of the parties and ultimately
drawing an arbitrary line on one side of the dispute. This line, realists
maintain, is drawn according to the political, economic, and psychological
inclinations of the judge. Some legal realists even believe that a judge is
able to shape the outcome of the case based on personal biases.
Positivists v. Naturalists
Apart from the realist-formalist dichotomy, there is the classic debate over
the appropriate sources of law between positivist and natural law schools of
thought. Positivists argue that there is no connection between law and
morality and the the only sources of law are rules that have been expressly
enacted by a governmental entity or court of law. Naturalists, or proponents
of natural law, insist that the rules enacted by government are not the only
sources of law. They argue that moral philosophy, religion, human reason
and individual conscience are also integrate parts of the law.
Some have attempted to break down schools of positivism and naturalism
(aka: anti-positivism) into 3 distinct groups:
The above mentioned schools of legal thoughts are only part of a diverse
jurisprudential picture of the United States. Other prominent schools of legal
thought exist. These include but are not limited to:
Further Reading
More more on jurisprudence, see this Yale Law Journal Article, Washington
University Jurisprudence Review, and this Michigan Law Article.
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