Sociological Jurisprudence

This chapter examines the relevance of ideas developed by Petrazycki and Ehrlich to the current concerns of the sociology of law. It starts by briefly describing the academic and political contexts in which these ideas were born. Then it goes on to present some aspects of the theories of Petrazycki and Ehrlich and to examine their imprints on empirical research. The final part of the chapter brings into focus the potentially romantic element of these ideas, which are expressed as a quest for an alternative concept of law capable of reviving the spirit of a community lost in the rise of modernity. The chapter concludes by addressing whether these ideas can still assist us in examining the empirical questions emerging out of current societal problems.