The genesis and current state of scientific approaches to the formation and understanding of criminalistics general theory are outlined. It is noted that the general theory of criminalistics in its development has taken a hard and long way, where we can distinguish the following stages: 1) accumulation of the needed scientific potential in criminalistics; 2) emergence of scientific views as to the need to create a criminalistics general theory; 3) formation and development of scientific ideas on the general theory of criminalistics, its structure, functions, place in the system of criminalistics.
It is emphasized that the general theory of criminalistics, as a system of basic ideas of this branch of knowledge, covering the most complete reflection of the matter of science, its concepts, categories, definitions, methods in certain connections, is constantly developing. The fundamental provisions, which make up the basis of the general theory are being updated and improved. The degree of the general theory formation reflects the current level of the development of criminalistics science itself.
An integral part of the criminalistics general theory, its core are criminalistics doctrines (theories) that precede it or, conversely, are caused by it, and study only a certain range of objective reality patterns which are studied by criminalistics in general. The general theory of criminalistics could be considered as a system of different levels of generalization and direction of criminalistics’ doctrines, which collectively constitute the theoretical-methodological basis of that science. The system of criminalistics’ doctrines (theories) constitutes the content of the criminalistics general theory.
Taking into account the results of the conducted analysis on scientific approaches, it is suggested to distinguish three levels of doctrines in the structure of general theory: 1) criminalistics’ teachings (theories) of scientific-study nature, covering scientific-study issues on an object, subject, methods, area of research, system, nature, conceptual apparatus and categories of criminalistics (the criminalistics language), its inter-scientific relations and place in the system of scientific knowledge, history of development and current state;2) criminalistics teachings (theories) of general scientific nature, which embrace studying the patterns which apply to the entire subject under study, included in it as a whole; 3) criminalistics teachings (theories) of the specific scientific nature, concerning the study of patterns relating to certain aspects of the criminalistics subject, revealing its essence and specificity. The differentiation of criminalistics teachings (theories) into different levels is conditioned primarily by the degree of community of the reflected by them elements of the cognition object, which is introduced by criminalistics itself, or the event of a crime, or crime investigation activities.
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