Hermann Kantorowicz and Thedor Viehweg against legal positivism Cover Image

Hermann Kantorowicz i Theodor Viehweg przeciwko pozytywizmowi prawniczemu
Hermann Kantorowicz and Thedor Viehweg against legal positivism

Author(s): Jan Zygmunt Chmielecki
Subject(s): Economy, Philosophy of Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego
Keywords: Theodor Viehweg; Hermann Kantorowicz; Free-law school; positivism, topos;

Summary/Abstract: Article’s aim is to describe the essence of Hermann Kantorowicz’s and Theodor Viehweg’s theoretical stand against legal positivism. Two basic works analysed in the article are H. Kantorowicz‘s Der Kampf um die Rechtswissenschaft [The Struggle for the Science of Law] (1906) and Th. Viehweg’s Topik und Jurisprudenz [Topic and Jurispudence] (1974). Article aims to com-pare these two scholars’ theoretical stand against legal positivism to the negation of scientific paradigm as described by Thomas S. Kuhn. The article contains methodological reflection. The author briefly defines legal positivism.. According to the author, H. Kanotorowicz negated legal positivism from the perspective similar to Protestantism. He claimed that the person ascertaining the law should somehow “evolve” and become “self-conscious”. Th. Viehweg’s theory emphasizes that it is impossible to treat the law as acomplete, logical system. He claimed that law should be treated as asum of topoi, rather resolving concrete problems than aiming to form the system

  • Issue Year: 49/2024
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 21-35
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish
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