Comparative Law and Its Epistemological Potential in the Period of Fermentation of Meanings about Law (Reflection on the Book)

Abstract

The article presents reflections on the book published in Russian “Essays of Com­parative Jurisprudence” by Thomas Lundmark, a German – American legal scholar – one of the few who today – in the period of the “linguistic turn” and the fashion for textual deconstruction – engaged not in verbal interpretation or post­modern “reinterpretation”, but in the scientific and research establishment of philo­sophical and legal portraits and their comparison, that is, the search for the seman­tic space of modern society through the identification of similarities and differences existing at the level of legal consciousness. By the efforts of T. Lund­mark comparative jurisprudence today focuses on epistemological problems of law. Using the example of T. Lundamark’s essay, it was possible to show that com­parative studies have potential for science and practice. It is revealed, in particular, that the search for similarities and differences in legislative systems has limited po­tential for understanding the law. The attitudes and motives hidden under the layer of official norms, acting outside the formal views of lawyers, play a decisive role. “Hidden cultures” are difficult to recognize, but can no longer be ignored due to the norm-forming nature and serious impact on the daily functioning of law.