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It is an intriguing feature of human experience that in our present world, amid thousands of indications of the effectiveness of the scientific method, so many of us persist in demonstrably illusory or magical beliefs whether religiously related or simply reflections of long-standing superstitions. At a time when millions can observe on television the first landings of human beings on the moon, when our daily lives in the so-called devel oped countries are replete with conveniences that reflect scientific advances, we still persist in daily wagers on the state lotteries, in paying astrologers or palmists for their readings, in investing thousands of dollars and hours of our legislators' time in discussing such issues as the value of daily prayer in the elementary schools. The emergence of modem medicine based increasingly on scientific research in chemistry, biology, and physics has considerably reduced people's resort to sha mans and witch doctors within the major sectors of our own society, although it has by no means eliminated such practitioners.
"Research and writing completed June 1972."--T.p.
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Niklas Luhmann is recognised as a major social theorist, and his treatise on the sociology of law is a classic text. For Luhmann, law provides the framework of the state, lawyers are the main human resource for the state, and legal theory provides the most suitable base from which to theorize on the nature of society. He explores the concept of law in the light of a general theory of social systems, showing the important part law plays in resolving fundamental problems a society may face. He then goes on to discuss in detail how modern 'positive' – as opposed to ‘natural’ – law comes to fulfil this function. The work as a whole is not only a contribution to legal sociology, but a major work in social theory. With a revised translation, and a new introduction by Martin Albrow.