Trevor N. Wedman seeks to understand the key assumptions underlying modern legal theory. Going back to Hobbes, but also making use of the developments in the theory of action and language philosophy over the past century, he breaks down the static conception of the state into one dependent on the actions and reflections of individuals, i.e., its citizens. He develops a social ontological theory of the law, in which the law is not taken as a mere given, but as an institutional fact. He criticizes both the Kelsenian conception of the Basic Norm and the Hartian notion of the Rule of Recognition as failing to account for the agency of individuals. The author turns to the work of one of Kelsen's contemporaries, Felix Somlo, in order to develop an alternative conception of the law that operates not from the top down, but from the bottom up. In this way, the law itself comes into focus as that which results from the reasoned jurisprudential reflection on the reality of meanings and actions.

This book contains the first-time English translation of the main work of Paul Scholten, the General Method of Private Law. The introductory article analyzes Scholten’s view in contrast with a particular combination of Comte’s centralizing optimization program and Neo-Kantian Idealism, which is still dominant in political philosophy. Comte’s sociology and Scholten’s Jurisprudentialism are not presented here in the well-known opposition of Sein and Sollen, but by showing how their different views on scientific method are grounded in opposite views on the philosophical, political and ethical meaning of human action. Neo-Kantianism adheres to Comte’s view, while Scholten adheres to the Aristotelian view, as it had developed in Christianity and had provided the protestant foundation of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. Comte attacks Aristotelian Protestantism, which he characterizes as the metaphysical stage of the Western development of state: negative, protestant, constitutional and juridical. Scholten’s views oppose the inherent trend towards centralization in Comte’s program to cover all aspects of optimization for the best of all, ever better. That branch of political philosophy not only has shaky foundations in scientific method but also has reached its boundaries of operational applicability. Scholten’s views oppose the emphasis in Comte’s program on a unified general will and stress the need for accepting the existence of deeply conflicting philosophies of life in society. This has consequences for the organization of democracy regarding independence of specialized agencies, the role of civil society and the voting system. It not just holds for the state level but also for Unions and supranational organizations. The legal system plays a key role in this development. Scholten’s views and activities have had great posthumous impact for the reconstruction of society and politics in the first years after World War II. They contributed to the collaboration between the different denominations in the Protestant church, opened up the social-democratic party to different denominations and helped develop the cooperation of different Christian parties, leaving the cleavages of the pre-war political spectre behind. Authors and open reviewers who have contributed to the DPSP project, have a broad international background, apart from the Netherlands: Finland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Brazil, United States and Indonesia. Indonesia plays a substantial role in the book, as Scholten played a main role in setting up the legal education system in what was then the Netherlands Indies. Chapters 1. Paul Scholten, Aristotelian Protestantism in Dutch Legal Philosophy. Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer (p.1) 2. Paul Scholten’s Life. Rogier Chorus, Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer, Jacqueline Schoonheim (p.28) 3. General Method of Private Law. English translation of the First Chapter of the General Volume of the Asser-serie on Dutch Civil Law, written by Paul Scholten. Liesbeth Huppes-Cluysenaer, Marjanne Termorshuizen-Arts, Cassandra Steer, Paul Scholten (p.37) 4. Jumping Judges, Judicial Discovery of Law. Niels van Manen (p.225) 5. From a Legal Order to a Legal System, Scholten’s Contribution to a Theory of Legal Change. Jean-Louis Halpérin (p.249) 6. Law and Context, Scholten’s Open System of Law and Legal Harmonisation. Jaakko Husa (261) 7. Case-Based Reasoning and Formulary Procedure, A Guard against Individual Emotions. Marco Gardini (p.287) 8. Kelsen and Scholten on Reason and Emotion in Solving Cases. Nuno M.M.S. Coelho (p.315) 9. Trembling Necessity and Analogy, Juridical Reason as Judgment by the Similar. Luciano de Camargo Penteado (p.334) 10. Paul Scholten and the Founding of the Batavia Rechtshogeschool. Upik Djalins (p.354) 11. In Search of Scholten’s Legacy, The Meaning of the Method of Rechtsvinding for the Current Indonesian Legal Discourse. Shidarta (p.396) 12. Scholten’s Reflections on Judge’s Practices, An Apology of the Mystery of the Legal Craft. Robert Knegt (p.443) 13. The Reception of the Work of Paul Scholten in the Netherlands. Marjanne Termorshuizen-Arts (p.465) 14. Re-Appraising Paul Scholten, His Influence on the Development of a National Legal System in Indonesia. Tristam P. Moeliono (p.495)

This volume contains the opinions of the great jurist Hermann Kantorowicz on various fundamental questions of law and the bounds of legal science.