Methodology of the theory of state and law and its functions

Being a science - although recently the unityit is disputed - the theory of the state and law deals with certain phenomena and laws. It is called upon to explore such different structural phenomena of the life of society as law and the state. That is, the object of its study are the largest and most characteristic tendencies in the emergence, folding and interaction of the state and law. Understanding these trends allows us to learn the knowledge of more specific branches of law.

This general theoretical science has its ownmethodology - a system of certain theoretical positions and logical methods of investigation. Thus, the methodology of the theory of state and law is a system of certain logical deductions and methods (deduction and induction, synthesis and analysis, generalization, comparison), and philosophical, linguistic, sociological, psychological and other approaches to understanding the basic laws of origin, development and interaction of state and law.

This theory has general, private andspecial methods. The methodology of the theory of state and law proceeds from the premise that, in spite of the difference between the study of the types, forms, structures, functions and prospects of the state and the study of norms, sources, types of interpretation of law, its concepts and practices, society - especially social philosophy and the philosophy of law. Here the concept that law as a phenomenon depends on the conditions of life of the society is applicable, it is connected with other social phenomena - economic, political, spiritual, cultural, and is constantly developing, qualitatively updated along with the development of society.

Along with general philosophical approaches, the methodologythe theory of state and law uses private (concrete) methods. For example, a traditional special (or formal) legal method studies law as such, in isolation from economics, morality, politics, etc. Such a method makes it possible to isolate clear and concise formulations of the studied state and law in terms of "subject of law", "legal capacity", "normative act", etc. An alternative and to some extent the complete opposite of the legal and technical method is the method of comparing legal systems when they are compared according to different criteria on the basis of a certain model or sample.

The sociological method is popular and effective. It consists in the fact that the law is examined not in the form of abstract categories, but at the level of concrete social phenomena. Together with the analysis of laws, the processing of the results of population surveys or statistical data, and other non-legal documents is processed. It allows us to increase the reliability of our knowledge about the subject. The methodology of the theory of state and law may include a statistical method consisting in establishing statistical indicators on the subject of study - for example, data on the percentage of crimes at the time of committing which violence is applied to economic offenses.

Other methods of the theory of state and law - tofor example, historical and psychological - help by analyzing and comparing the structures of the state and the legal norms of certain historical periods, to study the process of formation of forms of statehood and law, to reveal the family ties between them, to trace their development and mutual influence. Special or generalizing methods, such as psychological, systemic, structural and others, allow the use of advances in other sciences to study the problems of state and law, as well as to place specific phenomena in a specific context.

The subject and methodology of the theory of state and lawhave the functions necessary to understand the meaning and tendencies of the development of public life. Thus, the function of cognition allows us to explain the processes and phenomena in the state and legal life. The function of heuristics opens new regularities, which cause another function - prognostic (designing future models of the state and law).