法律中的“经验”与“逻辑”——霍姆斯大法官“经验论”解读

Theory of Experience of Mr. Justice Holmes

1880年,霍姆斯首次提出了"法律的生命不是逻辑,而是经验"这一命题。他所说的"经验"是指法官在遵循先例的前提下,根据变化中的社会生活,给予先例以新的生命。这揭示了美国普通法的精神。霍姆斯并不否认逻辑在法律推理中的作用;但当逻辑无能为力时,法官应该抛弃形而上学的束缚,在法律的空隙"立法"。这个观点反映出霍姆斯的实用主义法学观。

Oliver Wendell Holmes is a famous judge of America in 20th century. When he acted as a judge in the Supreme Court, his ninny dissents were accepted afterward. So he was deemed to define the future direction of legal philosophy in Supreme Court in 20th century. In 1880, Holmes propounded an idea for the first time： The life of the law has not been logic： it has been experience. ＇ Experience＇ mentioned by Holmes is that judge endows with new meaning to Precedent accordance various social lives. This is the spirit of common law. Holmes didn＇ t deny effect of logic in legal reasoning. On the contrary, only when logic has been no use, judge could ＇ legislate＇ in the gaps of law and east off metaphysics. Holmes is the first person who explained the principle of adherence to Precedent partly in the angle of legal philosophy. It＇ s a legal idea of pragmatism.