The Role of Historiography in Legal Philosophy and the Formation of the Conceptual Language in Contemporary Legal Theory

The article addresses several key issues concerning the assessment of contemporary historiography in the philosophy of law and emphasizes the necessity for its advancement, particularly in terms of its conceptual and terminological vocabulary. Historiography holds a programmatic significance for the philosophy of law, serving as a manifestation of critical analysis and as a foundational tool for evaluating the current state and capacity for independent thought within the field. The philosophy of law, whether through alternating or simultaneous existence with pure hypothesis, risks becoming stagnant and disconnected from real-life applications, if does not engage with practical outcomes. It must evolve beyond merely a “logical laboratory” that fails to produce meaningful contributions to science and practice. Therefore, a proper historiography of legal philosophy reflects an intellectual portrait, and serves as a cultural and civilizational passport that encapsulates both universal and national perspectives on law, along with organization of relevant knowledge – whether as theory or practical guidance. One significant challenge in advancing the philosophy of law is the prevalent tendency to rely on schematism, illustrative and allegorical methods to convey ideas. This reliance can distort the potential unity between abstract semantic concepts and figurative characteristics of political and legal knowledge. The inability of concrete philosophy of law to engage in independent thought often reveals itself as symptom of traditional schematism. Furthermore, the cultural and civilizational morphology of the philosophy of law is intricately linked to the role and significance of national language.

Keywords: history of political and legal thought; legal historiography; philosophy of law; morphology of legal language; history of science; withering away of law; national legal literature