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Theory and Values in Socio‐legal Studies
Author(s) -
Cotterrell Roger
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of law and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.263
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1467-6478
pISSN - 0263-323X
DOI - 10.1111/jols.12047
Subject(s) - legal culture , relation (database) , sociology , cultural values , action (physics) , ethnic group , epistemology , positive economics , law , law and economics , social science , political science , economics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , database , computer science
This article argues that socio‐legal studies (SLS) should engage with ultimate values, in Max Weber's sense, insofar as these influence law and social action linked to law. The article sketches orientations in socio‐legal research that have deterred concern with such values. It suggests a way to conceptualize values as a component of culture, and illustrates this by reference to aspects of the regulation of religious and ethnic minorities, on the one hand, and business and financial networks, on the other. Finally, it considers how SLS's commitment to science impacts on the study of values. It argues that empirically‐grounded socio‐legal theory can suggest why and how certain ultimate values come to seem meaningful and relevant in particular social conditions. As components of cultural experience, values relate to law in complex ways, and SLS can and should give more attention to this relation.