A Nobel Prize in Legal Science: Theory, Empirical Work, and the Scientific Method in the Study of Law

An urgent task in the field of updating the theoretical and methodological foundations of the current post-Soviet development of science "Theory of State and Law" is searching for a methodology that would contribute to the successful development of our entire Russian society. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to analyze and clarify the reasons for the national theoretical legal science departure from the natural legal foundations of its development in Soviet times. The methods for achieving this purpose are, first, the historical and theoretical description of the generality of natural legal norms and principles origin and their objective influence on the entire legislative and law enforcement practice. For this, the techniques of a specialized social science approach are used. The comparative method is also used in the form of positive experience in conducting social science matters in a number of foreign countries. Results: the study makes it possible to identify the ways of the influence of globalization processes on the intensification of the use of natural legal methods of development of juridical law in different, especially in developed countries of the world. The author substantiates the conclusion that Russian theoretical legal science can develop successfully if in its development it relies more fully on a specialized social science method.

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Zur Diskussion gestellt. Erster Nobelpreis für einen „economic geographer“ – eine Bewertung aus Sicht eines Wirtschaftsgeographen

Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie ◽

10.1515/zfw.2009.0007 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 53 (1-2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rolf Sternberg

Keyword(s):

Nobel Prize ◽

Empirical Work ◽

Good News ◽

New Economic Geography ◽

Spatial Equilibrium ◽

Spatial Concentration ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Considerable Effort ◽

Trading Patterns ◽

Academy Of Sciences

First Nobel Prize given to an “economic geographer” - a critical assessment from the perspective of a proper economic geographer. This paper critically assesses both the theoretical approach of the New Economic Geography (NEG) developed by US economist Paul Krugman and the decision of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to give him the 2008 “Nobel Prize in Economics” for his work on trading patterns and the spatial concentration of economic activities. This assessment is done from the perspective of a proper economic geographer. The basics of Krugman’s NEG models are presented and discussed in the lights of the state-of-the-art of current theoretical and empirical work on NEG. A considerable effort is undertaken to identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of this attempt to explain spatial concentration of economic activities in the scope of spatial equilibrium models. Despite the fact that most of the proper economic geographers, namely in Germany, have hitherto been quite reluctant in working with NEG models and its propositions the message targeted at economic geographers is clear: they should use the huge potential of the NEG available for empirical and policy-related research more intensively than before. Thus, the decision of the Nobel Prize committee is good news not only for economists interested in spatial concentration, but for proper economic geographers as well.

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WISDOM OF A NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.55.1.50 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 55 (1) ◽

pp. 50-50

Author(s):

N. Timbergen

Keyword(s):

Medical Research ◽

Nobel Prize ◽

General Public ◽

Scientific Method ◽

Medical Science ◽

Nobel Prize Winner ◽

The Body ◽

The Prestige

"What is the upshot of these remarks?" First of all they stress the importance for medical science of open minded observation—of "watching and wondering." This basic scientific method is still too often looked down upon by those blinded by the glamor of apparatus, by the prestige of tests, and by the temptation to turn to drugs . . ." Medical science and practice meet with a growing sense of unease and lack of confidence from the side of the general public. The causes are complex, but at least in one respect the situation could be improved: a little more open mindedness, a little more collaboration with other biologic sciences and a little more attention to the body as a whole and the unity of body and mind could substantially enrich the field of medical research.

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A Prize in ‘Economic Sciences’

The Nobel Factor ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691196312.003.0003 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 42-67

Author(s):

Avner Offer ◽

Gabriel Söderberg

Keyword(s):

Central Bank ◽

Nobel Prize ◽

Scientific Method ◽

Policy Advice ◽

Science Literature

This chapter discusses the significance of a Nobel Prize in economics. In a turbulent world, the prizes that Alfred Nobel endowed in 1895 shine as beacons of enduring value. They signal that effort, integrity, and success in pursuit of truth can earn mighty acclaim. In 1968, the Swedish central bank persuaded the Nobel Foundation to add a prize in economics, identical in all but name to those in science, literature, and peace. For a paltry investment, it extended the aura of Nobel authority to the discipline of economics. It was an entrepreneurial move worthy of Alfred Nobel himself. Like Nobel's invention of dynamite, the economic prize was a force with potential for good but also for harm. But how does one think of economics as science? Specialists in scientific method, practising economists, and Nobel Prize winners tell different stories. This matters when we look to economics for policy advice.

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Método científico no Direito segundo Pontes de Miranda

Revista da Faculdade de Direito ◽

10.22456/0104-6594.76646 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (40) ◽

Author(s):

Saulo Monteiro Martinho de Matos ◽

Douglas Domingues Gabriel Neto

Keyword(s):

20Th Century ◽

Scientific Method ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Legal Studies ◽

Legal Science ◽

Legal Methodology ◽

The Way

RESUMOEste estudo é uma contribuição à recepção do pensamento naturalista brasileiro do início do século XX. Como a primeira grande discussão da Ciência Jurídica Brasileira foi metodológica e Pontes de Miranda desempenhou nela um papel de vulto, há que se indagar no que propôs, por que essa proposta não vingou e o que seria necessário para que fosse implementada. O objetivo deste artigo é expor sua proposta metodológica para a Ciência Jurídica. O método empregado foi documental, dedutivo e histórico, porque pretende reconstituir os argumentos de um autor do início do século XX. O artigo levanta quatro hipóteses: o regalismo foi o problema-motivo da proposta metodológica de Pontes (seção 1); Pontes rejeitou os métodos contemporâneos a seu pensamento, porque os considerou subjetivos (seção 2); para eliminar sua subjetividade, propôs a identidade funcional (seção 3) e metodológica (seção 4) dos atores jurídicos, adaptando o método científico ao Direito. Os resultados obtidos foram que (1) o método proposto só poderia ser implementado após uma reviravolta indiscriminada na maneira com que o Direito é pensado; (2) a crítica de Lopes (inconsistência de princípios e prática naturalista) não cabe para o pensamento de Pontes de Miranda, porque ele pressupunha um auxílio mútuo dos juristas, e não uma concentração de forças para a revelação solitária do direito. A falta de empiria em seus escritos se justifica pelo auxílio dos juristas, que, juntos, se ajudam na melhor da compreensão do Direito a partir do método científico, como foi feito na Física.PALAVRAS-CHAVEPontes de Miranda. Metodologia jurídica. Ciência do Direito. Regalismo. ABSTRACTThis study is a contribution to the reception of Brazilian naturalist thought from the beginning of the 20th Century. Since Brazilian Legal Science’s first debate was methodological and Pontes de Miranda played an important role on it, it is necessary to question his proposition, why it did not succeed, and what would be necessary for it to become widely practiced. This article’s goal is to present his methodological approach to the Science of Law. The method used in this work was documental, deductive, and historical. It starts with four hypotheses: regalism was the problem-motive behind Pontes’ methodological approach (section 1); Pontes rejected the methods of his age, for he considered them subjective (section 2); to avoid such subjectivity, Pontes in turn proposed a functional (section 3) and methodological (section 4) identity between legal actors, adapting the scientific method to legal studies. The research showed the following results: the described method would only be applied after a major overturn in the way Law is thought; Lopes’ critique suggesting that Pontes’ work is inconsistent with his premises is unfounded, since it presupposed collaboration between scholars instead of a concentration of efforts in order to achieve a solitary comprehension of Law. The lack of empiricism in his works is justified by the help of other scholars, which, united, collaborate with one another to a better understanding of Law through the scientific method, as it was done in PhysicsKEYWORDSPontes de Miranda. Legal methodology. Legal science. Regalism.

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Laying the Foundation: Preparing the Field of Business and Society for Investigating the Relationship Between Business and Inequality

Business & Society ◽

10.1177/0007650316679990 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 57 (6) ◽

pp. 1252-1285 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Richard Marens

Keyword(s):

Social Issue ◽

Social Science ◽

Empirical Work ◽

Theory Building ◽

Theory Construction ◽

Business And Society ◽

Experimental Science ◽

Social Science Theory ◽

Science Theory ◽

The Relationship

With the growth in income inequality now regarded as a crucial social issue, business and society scholars need to prepare themselves for the ambitious task of studying how corporate practices, intentionally or not, contribute to this trend. This article offers starting points for scholars wishing to explore this topic but lacking the necessary background for doing so. First, it offers suggestions as to finding the extant empirical work necessary for informed analysis. This is followed by an examination of alternate methods of theory construction relevant to this topic, which transcend the limitations of the experimental science model of theory building. It then provides an example of a social science theory that exemplifies how empirically informed open theory can illuminate the dynamics behind growing inequality. The article concludes by suggesting that progress in this area requires embracing the spirit of earlier approaches to business and society scholarship while abandoning some outdated assumptions.

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