Sociology of Law as the Science of Norms (Studies in the Sociology of Law)

This book proposes the study of norms as a theory and method of explaining human choice and behaviour by introducing a new scientific perspective - the science of norms. The science of norms may here be broadly understood as a social science which includes elements from both the behavioural and legal sciences. It is given that a science of norms is not normative in the sense of prescribing what is right or wrong in various situations. Compared with legal science, sociology of law has an interest in the operational side of legal rules and regulation. This book develops a synthesizing social science approach to better understand societal and legal development in the wake of the increasingly significant digital technology. The underlying idea is that norms as expectations today are not primarily related to social expectations emanating from human interactions but come from systems that mankind has created for fulfilling its needs. Today the economy via the market and technology via digitization generate stronger and more frequent expectations than the social system. By expanding the sociological understanding of norms both in time and space, the book makes comparisons between different parts of society possible and creates a more holistic understanding of contemporary society. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers in the areas of Sociology of Law, Legal Theory, Philosophy of Law, Law in general, Sociology and Social Psychology Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgement 9 Preface 10 1 Why do we need a science of norms? 12 1.1 Different perspectives of norms 12 1.1.1 Design of the book 12 1.1.2 Norms from an analytical perspective 13 1.1.3 Norms from an empirical perspective 24 1.1.4 Normative systems 29 1.2 The relation between societal development and changing norms 31 1.2.1 How is a society created? 31 1.2.2 The birth, change and decline of a societal system 40 1.3 Epistemological implications 54 1.3.1 The circle of motives between actor and system theory 54 1.3.2 The need to assemble 56 2 Two competing normative worlds and their internal changes over time 60 2.1 Introduction 60 2.2 Lifeworld and system 61 2.2.1 Human dualism 61 2.2.2 Social integration 64 2.2.3 System integration 69 2.2.4 The relationship between lifeworld and systems 73 2.3 The S­curve and the developments of the two worlds over time 81 2.3.1 Society’s material progress – the successive establishment of the systems 81 2.3.2 Society’s ideological progress – the perpetual rise and fall of the lifeworld 89 2.3.3 How society develops and expresses its ideology 96 3 About norms and action systems 102 3.1 Social norms 102 3.1.1 Sociological and socio­psychological norms 102 3.1.2 Norms in game theory 108 3.1.3 Other types of social norms 115 3.1.4 How are norms created and reproduced? 116 3.1.5 The concept of norms 118 3.2 The distribution of norms across action systems 119 3.2.1 Action systems 119 3.2.2 Socio­cultural systems 121 3.2.3 The political/administrative system 122 3.2.4 The economic system 124 3.2.5 The ecological system 130 3.2.6 Biotic and abiotic subsystems 134 3.2.7 Summing up 139 4 Law as a system of norms 140 4.1 Legal rules as norms 140 4.2 Legal property spaces 143 4.3 The contents of legal rules and distribution across action systems 151 4.4 When a norm becomes a legal rule, what are the consequences? 165 4.5 What norms become legal rules? 169 4.6 On detecting a norm or system of norms 177 5 The evolution of norms and law 179 5.1 The evolution of law in the market economy 179 5.1.1 Legal cultures that have shaped Western law 179 5.1.2 The market economy as legal culture 189 5.2 The evolution of law during the industrial age 195 5.3 Law in transitional society 205 5.3.1 Intervening rules and intersystem conflicts 205 5.3.2 Characteristics and problems with intervening rules 213 5.3.3 A discussion on alternative solutions to intersystem conflicts 215 6 Toward a theory of legal change 224 6.1 A theory of basic normative patterns 224 6.2 The emergence and developmental pattern of environmental law: a basic normative pattern characterized by dominant economic norms 233 6.2.1 The two sides to the right of ownership 233 6.2.2 The institution of immission 234 6.2.3 The institution of tort law 235 6.2.4 Intervening rules 237 6.3 Are there basic normative patterns that recur in other areas of law? 239 6.4 The development of the legal system within bipolar values 243 6.5 Law as an indicator of societal change 247 6.6 The locomotive of legal development 250 6.7 Concluding remarks 261 7 A science of norms: a science for the 21st century 264 7.1 Sociology of law: a science of norms 264 7.1.1 Brief summing up 264 7.1.2 Norms as readiness for action: a parallel to genomics 265 7.1.3 Norms between law and society 267 7.1.4 Methodological implications 271 7.2 Strategic normative thinking: normative design to support self­regulation 275 7.2.1 Introduction to a legal innovation 275 7.2.2 Normative design to support self­regulation 276 7.3 Sociology of law in need of a science of norms in the digital era 280 7.3.1 Gene technology and the lag in law 280 7.3.2 The normativity of technology 282 7.3.3 Code is law and algorithms are norms 284 7.3.4 Different orders of normativity: algo norms 287 7.3.5 Methodological implications 294 7.3.6 Regulatory and legal implications 297 7.3.7 Changes in society and the need for a science of norms 302 Bibliography 304 Index 327 Norms;,Normative,Structures;,Normative,Orders;,Analytical,Jurisprudence;,Behaviourism;,Deontology;,Sociology,of,Law;,Gene,technologies;,Artificial,Intelligence;,Digitalisation;,Algorithms This book proposes the study of norms as a method of explaining human choice and behaviour by introducing a new scientific perspective. The science of norms may here be broadly understood as a social science which includes elements from both the behavioural and legal sciences. It is given that a science of norms is not normative in the sense of prescribing what is right or wrong in various situations. Compared with legal science, sociology of law has an interest in the operational side of legal rules and regulation. This book develops a synthesizing social science approach to better understand societal development in the wake of the increasingly significant digital technology. The underlying idea is that norms as expectations today are not primarily related to social expectations emanating from human interactions but come from systems that mankind has created for fulfilling its needs. Today the economy, via the market, and technology, via digitization, generate stronger and more frequent expectations than the social system. By expanding the sociological understanding of norms, the book makes comparisons between different parts of society possible and creates a more holistic understanding of contemporary society. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers in the areas of sociology of law, legal theory, philosophy of law, sociology and social psychology.

This book proposes the study of norms as a method of explaining human choice and behaviour by introducing a new scientific perspective.

The science of norms may here be broadly understood as a social science which includes elements from both the behavioural and legal sciences. It is given that a science of norms is not normative in the sense of prescribing what is right or wrong in various situations. Compared with legal science, sociology of law has an interest in the operational side of legal rules and regulation. This book develops a synthesizing social science approach to better understand societal development in the wake of the increasingly significant digital technology. The underlying idea is that norms as expectations today are not primarily related to social expectations emanating from human interactions but come from systems that mankind has created for fulfilling its needs. Today the economy, via the market, and technology via digitization, generate stronger and more frequent expectations than the social system.

By expanding the sociological understanding of norms, the book makes comparisons between different parts of society possible and creates a more holistic understanding of contemporary society. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers in the areas of sociology of law, legal theory, philosophy of law, sociology and social psychology.