“Critical Empiricism” in American Legal Studies: paradox, program, or pandora's box?

Abstract

In this article, David Trubek and John Esser analyze the proposal of “critical empiricism” suggested by scholars of the Amherst Seminar in the United States. Based on the review of the scholarship produced by the Amherst group, the authors identify their epistemological assumptions and the similarities and differences with the Law and Society literature. Finally, they suggest that there is a paradox between the criteria of objectivity of the empirical methods and the radical critical approach.

Keywords

• Direito e sociedade
• Empirismo crítico
• Estudos jurídicos críticos