Integrating the Disciplines of Law and Biology: Dealing with Clashing Paradigms

This article considers the difficulties that a researcher on the border between normative and explanatory sciences may encounter. The article begins with an introduction to the field: the integration of law and biology. It appears that this kind of interdisciplinary research is not only a challenge...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hendrik Gommer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Utrecht University School of Law 2015-07-01
Series:Utrecht Law Review
Subjects:
law
Online Access:http://www.utrechtlawreview.org/articles/10.18352/ulr.316/
Description
Summary:This article considers the difficulties that a researcher on the border between normative and explanatory sciences may encounter. The article begins with an introduction to the field: the integration of law and biology. It appears that this kind of interdisciplinary research is not only a challenge for the researcher himself, but also for his readers. Concepts are not understood, assumptions differ, ‘peers’ are not really peers, and new paradigms cannot be proven. Thus integrating law and biology turns into some kind of battle between notions of truth, paradigms. A battle that cannot be resolved by proofs. One solution is to create a gap between law and biology, normative science and empirical science. Another solution may be translating concepts.
ISSN:1871-515X