Костогрызов Павел Игоревич
Abstract. Studies in legal anthropology have been actively developing in Russia during the last two decades. However, the place of this discipline among the humanities and social sciences is still under discussion. There is no consensus among Russian researchers about the definition of its matter, thematic field, and structure; its conventional categorical apparatus is not elaborated yet. The present-day studies in humanities, particularly in anthropology, are interdisciplinary. On the one hand, this peculiarity opens up broad heuristic prospects; on the other hand, it produces certain epistemological difficulties. The most obvious is the problem of transferability of knowledge from one discipline’s language into another one. Since the legal and anthropological studies are conducted by both law scholars and anthropologists, as well as by specialists in other social sciences, a common language of legal anthropology unambiguously understood by all scientists becomes necessary for ensuring synergy of their research efforts. This requires concerted activity of the whole research community in order to form terminological conventions. It presupposes public discussion with the participation of a broad circle of scholars who represents different fields of knowledge but are committed to the common legal anthropological research agenda. In characterizing the basic methodological approaches coexisting in contemporary Russian legal anthropology, the author outlines the most promising issues, which such discussion could develop. The author's vision of the object, the thematic field, and the structure of legal anthropology is presented as one of possible versions. One of the most promising theories claiming to become the philosophical foundation of legal-anthropological studies – the anthropology of energy – is considered.
Keywords: legal anthropology, methodology of science, paradigm, research approach, anthropology of energy.