MODULE 1[B]: AN OVERVIEW TO

WHAT IS JURISPRUDENCE?
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF
THE SAME

1. INTRODUCTION
Legal theory has many branches, with the most popular of four forms. The most prevalent
method of jurisprudence attempts to examine, clarify, define and critique whole legislative
bodies, ranging from contract to tort to constitutional law. This form of jurisprudential
scholarship is also found in legal encyclopedias, law reviews, and law school textbooks. The
second form of jurisprudence compares law with other fields of knowledge such as literature,
economics, religion and the social sciences and contrasts it. The aim of this type of study is to
illuminate each field of knowledge by sharing insights that have proven to be useful in advancing
the comparative system 's critical traits. The third form poses critical questions about the law
itself. Such questions aim to expose the historical, social , and cultural roots of a particular legal
term. A well-known example of this form of jurisprudence is the Common Law, written by
Oliver wendell holmes. This traces the evolution of civil and criminal liability from undeveloped
societies in which injury responsibility was based on arbitrary notions of retribution, to modern
societies where the liability is solely based on the notion of reasonableness. The fourth and
fastest-growing jurisprudence is based on even more theoretical questions, including: What is
law? What does a judge in a criminal or appellate court rule on a case? Is a judge equivalent to a
mathematician or a scientist applying laws and concepts autonomously and determined? And is a

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judge more like a politician who actually considers a case for the most politically desirable
result.

2. MEANING AND DEFINITION OF THE TERM

JURISPRUDENCE
The philosophy of jurisprudence ultimately helps develop one's own ideas about a specific
theory. In abstract jurisprudence is a subject whose knowledge is the cornerstone and the basis of
all legal studies. Jurisprudence is a name given to a certain form of law enquiry in which we
focus on the essence of the legal rules and the underlying purpose of the law The word derives
from the Latin term jurisprudentia, which means "research, intelligence, or law science,"
meaning law may also be scientifically or systematically learned like any other social study.
Under modern law jurisprudence is interpreted as a concept that covers a continuum of questions
about the essence and intent of law as well as the answers to it. To understand the sense of
jurisprudence and its description let us see its etymology first. The word 'jurisprudence' is the
Latin term 'jurisprudentia' derivation in English. The word translation signifies the law analysis,
expertise, or capacity. There have been many ways of describing jurisprudence throughout the
course of history. Romans liked to call it observation of all human things combined with
knowledge of the righteous and the unjust. Salmond describes that as the study of the very first
civil law concepts. Jurisprudence is both an analytical and idealistic abstraction, and a study of
man's actions in society. In case law, we wonder what rule it is to be a legal rule. It is also known
as the constructive law theory, or philosophy. There is no one true concept of jurisprudence, all
of which are in their own view right.

3. HISTORY OF JURISPRUDENCE
The history of the philosophy of law shows that jurisprudence had its developmental origin from
the ancient Greek era to the current jurisprudence of the 21st century, with various shifts in its
existence at different stages of its development. Jurisprudence is a philosophy which focuses on
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theory and existence. It deals with the fundamental concepts upon which the superstructure of
law rests. In the age of ancient Rome and ancient India the idea of law and justice begins. And
since these prehistoric times to today in the 21st century, it has developed and expanded through
several stages. Some of the earliest references to the idea of jurisprudence are found in ancient
Indian texts known as the Dharmashastra. There was great belief in the idea of dharmas and
morality in these times. The ideas then further evolved in ancient Rome. We had conventional
forms of law as we see it today. In addition to this, people are therefore bound by a set of oral
rules and customs and regulations. The roman empire leads to the growth of different law
schools. Law practice became more sophisticated and more scholarly.

4. DEVELOPMENT & SCHOOLS OF JURISPRUDENCE

There are several jurisprudence schools that concentrate on the essence of law and its work. We
shall confine ourselves to treating the most appropriate schools for our practical reason. Hence,
the following schools will be addressed briefly in this material.

Natural Law School: lies to be the oldest school of jurisprudence, it upholds that those higher
laws, the laws of natural law, are above, and superior to the law created by man. Those values
are universal and irreversible. With regard to the highest matter man-made law should be
consistent with natural law principles.

Legal Positivism: also known as the Empirical School of Jurisprudence, it claims that there is no
higher law than that established by states, lawful or self-imposing, and that such law must be
obeyed, even though it seems arbitrary or contradictory to the "ordinary" rules. Like the theory of
natural law, this one deals separately with law and other concepts such as, morality and religion.
Historical School: this jurisprudence school considers law as an evolutionary mechanism and
focuses on the legal system 's roots and context. Like its language, a nation's law originates in the
universal spirit, the common conviction of right, and has already acquired a fixed character,

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unique to that country, before the earliest time of authentic history. Throughout this prehistoric
period, a people 's laws, language, manners, and political system are inseparably united, and they
are the specific faculties and impulses of a person, bound together by their inward-necessity
bonded consciousness.

Sociological School: Unlike the Historical School, which conceives the rule of a country as
bound to its people's primitive consciousness, sociological conception of rule positions the law in
the society's present institutions. The advocates of sociological jurisprudence tend to interpret
law in a large social sense rather than as an isolated phenomenon separate from and independent
of societal control. In jurisprudence, sociological questions are concerned with the real impact of
the law on the complex of behavior, behaviour, organisation, climate, abilities, and forces
involved in sustaining a specific society. They are also concerned with the substantive
development of the legal system, and feel that this can only be done if legislation and court
decisions take into consideration the results of other branches of learning , particularly social
sciences.

5. WHY WE STUDY JURISPRUDENCE

In the practical level, the ability to evaluate and think objectively and creatively about the law
grows from reading and engaging in jurisprudential discussions. These skills are often useful in
legal practice , particularly when faced with novel legal questions or when attempting to
formulate and promote novel approaches to legal issues. Therefore even those who need a
"bottom line" rationale for whatever they do will be able to find reasons for reading legal theory.
Jurisprudence at a professional level is the way lawyers and judges focus on what they do and
what their position is within society. This reality is expressed in the way jurisprudence is taught
as part of a law education at universities, Where law is treated not simply as a profession to be
learned but as an academic pursuit. For those who believe that only reflective life is worth living,
and who also spend much of their waking hours working inside the legal system, there are good
reasons for wanting to think in depth about the essence and function of the legal system and the

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legal profession. Finally, for some, the jurisprudence, whatever its other uses and benefits, is
interesting and enjoyable on its own. There will always be some for whom learning is in itself
interesting and valuable, even if it does not result in greater wealth, greater self-awareness or
greater political change.

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