The World’s Legal Systems – Lecture 3
Comparative Jurisprudence
Outline
Comparative Jurisprudence
Relationship between:
o Natural legal theory
o Positive legal theory
o Socio-legal theory
Goal: develop jurisprudence that accommodates realities of modern legal pluralism
Method: Critical historical reflection on Western legal theory
Prescribed literature: Menski, Chapter 3 (pg. 129-190)
In today’s class, we will put together a model for thinking about the law in societies that are defined
by globalization, by interactions among societies, to try to give us a theoretical model for how we can
think about law for the coming sessions of the course.
The purpose of today’s class is to put together and look at how this triangular model of jurisprudence
(which Werner Menski suggests we utilize) works. We are going to look at this model and kind of piece
it together by taking a critical look at the history of western legal thinking.
Menski’s model suggests that there are three different
ways of thinking about law, three different schools of
legal thought that are constantly interacting with each
other. These are:
Natural legal theory
Positive legal theory
Socio-legal theory
What Menski suggests in Chapter 3, is that the history of
western legal theory has included all 3 of these ways of
thinking of law in different periods of time. Actually, if
we have a balanced historic view of legal evolution in
western society, we should be aware that there are
these three different schools of legal thought and being
conscious of them will help us interact within study legal studies outside of the contemporary western
countries, because they are far less orientated towards the state as we are here and they take different
approaches of balancing in these three different theories in this triangle together. So what the purpose
of this chapter is, is to get us to think and consciously reflect on the pluralism in our own way of thinking
about the law in Western Europe and to use that as a springboard / entry point for the remainder of
this course. So after today’s class, in the next three classes, you will be learning about the history of
modern institutions of common law, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. And
then after that, you will be learning about Hindu law, Islamic law and Chinese law. Along the way,
Menski’s text will be continuingly referring to the different ways in which the state, concepts of natural
Comparative Jurisprudence
Outline
Comparative Jurisprudence
Relationship between:
o Natural legal theory
o Positive legal theory
o Socio-legal theory
Goal: develop jurisprudence that accommodates realities of modern legal pluralism
Method: Critical historical reflection on Western legal theory
Prescribed literature: Menski, Chapter 3 (pg. 129-190)
In today’s class, we will put together a model for thinking about the law in societies that are defined
by globalization, by interactions among societies, to try to give us a theoretical model for how we can
think about law for the coming sessions of the course.
The purpose of today’s class is to put together and look at how this triangular model of jurisprudence
(which Werner Menski suggests we utilize) works. We are going to look at this model and kind of piece
it together by taking a critical look at the history of western legal thinking.
Menski’s model suggests that there are three different
ways of thinking about law, three different schools of
legal thought that are constantly interacting with each
other. These are:
Natural legal theory
Positive legal theory
Socio-legal theory
What Menski suggests in Chapter 3, is that the history of
western legal theory has included all 3 of these ways of
thinking of law in different periods of time. Actually, if
we have a balanced historic view of legal evolution in
western society, we should be aware that there are
these three different schools of legal thought and being
conscious of them will help us interact within study legal studies outside of the contemporary western
countries, because they are far less orientated towards the state as we are here and they take different
approaches of balancing in these three different theories in this triangle together. So what the purpose
of this chapter is, is to get us to think and consciously reflect on the pluralism in our own way of thinking
about the law in Western Europe and to use that as a springboard / entry point for the remainder of
this course. So after today’s class, in the next three classes, you will be learning about the history of
modern institutions of common law, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. And
then after that, you will be learning about Hindu law, Islamic law and Chinese law. Along the way,
Menski’s text will be continuingly referring to the different ways in which the state, concepts of natural
