Wiesław Lang’s Legal Thought – Between Sociological and Analytical Jurisprudence

The article is an attempt to trace in Wiesław Lang’s scientific research the influence of sociological jurisprudence, as initiated in Polish legal science by Leon Petrażycki: the original source of Lang’s scientific inspiration. Not only significant traces of sociological research concepts but also the broader perception of the notion of law typical for this trend in jurisprudence can be seen in W. Lang’s work; these are most visibly evidenced in his works devoted to those aspects of American legal culture that are doctrinally and judicially dominated by the analysis of ‘law in action’, not merely ‘law in books’.

Uvodnik

It is a great honour and privilege to present the third volume of the scholarly journal Miscellanea Hadriatica et Mediterranea published by the Department of History at the University of Zadar. With this volume we would like to celebrate the 70th birthday of our recently retired professor Slobodan Čače. As a long-lasting professor of antiquity at the Department of History, prof. Čače has left an immense legacy as a beloved teacher and a brilliant scientist. His intellectual curiosity led him to research different topics, ranging from the protohistorical Liburnia – a topic that is his permanent scientific inspiration, over the analysis of ancient written sources, archaeology, social organisation of autochthonous peoples and their social transformations, to the historical toponymy, philology of ancient languages and many other topics. His retirement was only a formality as prof. Čače continued his scholarly research and advisement of young scientists with equal zeal. Although his health situation has forced him to slow down his pace, his spirit, scientific curiosity and critical mind have remained quite vibrant. On behalf of the whole Editorial staff, all of the authors and associates of the journal and our colleagues we would like to wish him all the best, successful recovery and many more joyous anniversaries.

Prostitute or Parasite: The Entanglement of Scientific and Social Victorian Discourses

Where does scientific inspiration come from? How does society determine its identity? Biology acts as a source for social metaphor, just as society can be the catalyst to drive scientific discovery. Though the word “parasite” has its origins in Greek drama, it became popularly associated with biology with the advent of the microscope. The story of the “parasite” is complicated by the frequent adoption of biological language to describe society and reinforce constructed social hierarchy. Prostitutes, as a group, are socially “parasitized” in the 19th century largely because of the threat of rapidly spreading venereal disease. The Contagious Diseases Acts, passed from 1864-1869, were a drastic medical solution to a problem that could have been more easily solved through milder social reforms. The primary motivation seems to be a fear of contagion, class mixing, and the weakening of the empire. Both the unseen biological parasite and the prostitute or “social parasite” act as threatening forces in the Victorian mind. The language of primary social and scientific literature from the 19th century shows each discourse being influenced by the other in an inextricably entangled way.

Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Report of the Council for 1976–77

At the Annual General Meeting held on 23 June 1976 Prof. J. Z. Young, F.R.S. was elected as President and the Hon. Hugh Waldorf Astor, J.P., was re-appointed as Honorary Treasurer. The following were elected new members of Council for the period 1976–9: Prof. K. F. Bowden, Prof. R. B. Clark, Prof. J. M. Dodd, Dr R. H. Hedley and Prof. G. J. Hills. The Council wishes to record the great debt which the Association owes Sir Alan Hodgkin, O.M., F.R.S., for the scientific inspiration and unselfish practical help which he gave to the Association during the ten years of his Presidency. It also warmly thanks Dr J. H. S. Blaxter, Prof. H. Charnock, Mr E. B. Cowell and Prof. W. D. P. Stewart who retired after three years and Prof. J. Llewellyn after two years service on the Council as elected members.

The Importance of Jacques Saurin in the History of Casuistry and the Enlightenment

The purpose of this paper is to examine several aspects of the relationship between Christianity and the rise of the new rationalistic spirit of the eighteenth century. It is in this connection that we intend to examine the thought of the French Huguenot preacher Jacques Saurin (1677–1730). Historians have held that the two leading ideas of that century, Nature and Reason, derive their meaning from the natural sciences. Such a point of view tends to ignore the greater realism towards nature and politics which developed within the Christian theological framework itself. From the sixteenth century on, we find orthodox theologians emphasizing the need for dealing with the world on its own terms. It was not so much the new sciences but rather the conflicts of the Reformation which brought out this increasingly rational attitude on the part of both Protestant and Catholic theologians. This development went on side by side with that secularized idea of reason which is of specific scientific inspiration. The means which theologians used to make room for a greater realism in their Christian framework of thought was casuistic divinity.