Book, Science of Law, A (Ferraz Jr) 3/14[LS]

This text appropriately raises basic questions related to the scientific character of the Science of Law, subjecting them to a rigorous, undogmatic analysis that is sufficiently capable of clarifying many of the questions about the problem of the meaning of the Science of Law, about the specificity of its object and of its method and what remains is the distinction between the Science of Law and other sciences that, without being confused with it, have the same phenomena as their research material. Under this orientation, the first concern of this text focuses on how to attribute and with what qualifications the character of scientificity to the Science of Law. This concern arises from the fact that, from the Romans to the contemporary era, there is no single line of justification for this character, which sometimes presents itself as art as art, sometimes as discipline as a logical system, etc. After revealing the essential reasons for this ancient dispute, the hypothesis is launched here that Legal Science acquired, due to historical contingencies, a notable technological character, which ended up making the problem of the decidability of conflicts (legislative, administrative, judicial, etc.) the center of legal thinking. Technological knowledge, the science of Law aims to create conditions for decision-making. To achieve this, it uses three theoretical models: norm theory, interpretation theory and decision theory. The first is linked to a systematizing and classificatory approach to norms and concepts, producing knowledge in which the organizational character of matters and issues predominates. The second is less concerned with organization, much more with the meaning of norms, with a view to developing rules and interpretative canons. The third constitutes a stricto sensu decision theory, elaborated as a behavior control technology through normative acts. When going through these models, the author focuses on the central themes of the General Theory of Law, presenting a general consideration about the unity of legal science in the face of the plurality of its theoretical models. Basic reading for the subjects Introduction to the Science of Law and General Theory of Law, for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Law.