| Jhering was one of Puchta’s most distinguished students,and along with Puchta’s "conceptual pyramid" theory,he pushed the development of conceptual jurisprudence to its peak.However,a real-life case of "two sales for one thing" changed everything and became the biggest crisis of Jhering’s academic career.Jhering thus realized that the old jurisprudence could only see the concepts but ignored the real world,and the contemporary legal system only focused on the logic of the technical level,which could not correctly solve the legal problems in real life,thus it could not develop for the future,and completely deviated from Jhering’s original academic purpose-the search for a universally valid legal theory.Jheringn’s developmental thinking soon led him to find a way out.Jhering’s gradual shift from conceptual jurisprudence to purposive jurisprudence does not mean he completely overturned his earlier legal theories.The method of jurisprudential construction techniques proposed during the period of Jhering’s conceptual jurisprudence may not be the primary means,but it is definitely an indispensable auxiliary means.With the concept as a carrier of abstract ideas,it is easier to proceed to the next step of thinking,not to mention its development into a general scientific theory.Therefore,there is no substitute for "concepts" in the field of jurisprudence.This methodological approach of interpretation or analogy of concept operation has not only not been abandoned by Jhering himself,but is still the essential tool of jurisprudential method and thinking.In fact,Jhering’s "purpose thinking" already existed at the stage of conceptual jurisprudence.However,it did not attract his attention,and through the pursuit of the concept of interest,Jhering’s rights thinking gradually formed,and he also returned to "purpose" thinking.This turn is a logical development,not a leap or a contradiction.It is only at different times that the emphasis of Jhering’s’ developmental’ line of jurisprudential thought was different.The early jurisprudential thought was methodological in nature,favoring academic research and theoretical discussion,dealing with the technical and systemic aspects of jurisprudence.In contrast,the later jurisprudential thought was philosophical or legal-philosophical in nature,dealing with the dominant concepts of law.This turn is actually a move from "form" to "substance",and still revolve around the same proposition.Jhering set out to aim for the future,but at a pace that builds on modern Roman law and serves as a model for his theory of legal evolution.Jhering is undoubtedly one of the greatest jurists in the history of 19th-century German jurisprudence.The most critical aspect of Jhering’s jurisprudence is not just that it is reflected in a few specific legal systems,but more importantly that his jurisprudential turn improved the relationship between nineteenth-century German jurisprudence and practice,and that in the long run,this emphasis on the practical life of society had a landmark impact on the development of our modern jurisprudence.Jhering’s lifelong commitment to the search for new knowledge was most remarkable in that he was never afraid to let others see the limitations of his old theories,even as he dared to stand up and lead the way in self-reflection.This developmental spirit and the legal theories he left behind are a unique and fascinating gem of nineteenth-century German jurisprudential history. |
