法学是科学吗?——以中国法学界的论辩为中心的叙述

Is Law a Science?——On the Viewpoint from the Debate of the Law Research of China

从1980年代开始,中国法学界掀起了一场延续至今的关于法学科学性问题的学术论辩,它从法学如何走向科学开始,到诘问法学究竟是不是科学,再到眼下尚无定论的关于狭义法学——规范学能不能走向科学的争论。此辩题涉及科学与法学两个概念间的逻辑关系,它与论者所持的相关概念息息相关。在泛科学语境下,学者的意见高度一致——法学是科学,不过那是个循环论证。在纯科学语境下,由于法学的实践性、评价性、不可验证性、法律推理内容上的主观性等原因,法学不可能是科学。在规范学法学语境下,科学论与非科学论伯仲难分。科学论者主张规范学的弱点可以通过人的努力加以克服,而非科学论者所持与当年德国的基尔希曼之论一脉相承。无论是在逻辑上还是在语言学上,指令性的规范学都不可能蝶变为陈述规律的科学。

The debate on the science of law was aroused in the law research of China from the 1980s,which was mainly concerned with how the law to be scientific,whether the law a science and whether normative law going to be scientific.Actually,this debate is related to the logical relationship between science and law,which is closely interrelated with the definitions holding by the debaters.In extensive science definition,researchers come to the same conclusion,that law is a science,despite of its arguing in a circle.In the narrow sense of science,the law could not be a science due to its nature of practice,judgement,unverifiability,the subjectivity of legal reasoning.In the normative law,the supporting and opposing views of which law a science are equally shared by researchers.The supporters insist that the weakness of normative jurisprudence can be overcome by the efforts,while the opponents still hold opinions from Kirchman.No matter from the viewpoint of logic or linguistics,the directive normative law can hardly be a science of rule statement.