The Position, Origin and System of the Methodology of Jurisprudence

To understand the methodology of jurisprudence, we should return to its original meaning: the methodology for legal research. The methodology of jurisprudence has significant differences from the legal methodology which focuses on judicial practice, for the latter would undermine the foundation of the methodology for legal research. Similarly, “legal doctrine” is an independent legal research method or a type of methodology of jurisprudence; it is thus redundant to name it after the methodology of jurisprudence. Based on specific methods, the methodology of jurisprudence is a systematic construction and theoretical explanation of legal methods that guides and promotes the development of legal research. In terms of its origin, the methodology of jurisprudence is deeply influenced by the methodology of natural science to make it more objective, whereas the quest for scientific, practical, historical and the need to use new methods in different social conditions also shape the methodology of jurisprudence, making it a unique type of scientific methodology. In terms of its system, the methodology of jurisprudence mainly includes eight parts: the philosophical presupposition, logical start, analytical perspective, ideal model, main paradigm, research path, basic methods and program of legal research. It includes both the foundational presuppositions of legal philosophy, the logical start of the “legal person”, the methodological discussion between individualism and holism, the legal deduction of the “model of the human”, and the individualistic paradigm, the research path that combines value and empirical evidence, and the induction of specific research methods and testing criteria.