PHILOSOPHICAL (UNIVERSAL) AND GENERAL SCIENTIFIC METHODS OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE METHODOLOGY OF CIVIL JUSTICE

The article examines philosophical (universal) and general scientific methods of cognition in the context of the methodology of civil law, shows the influence of philosophical ideas and methods of cognition on the general development of scientific knowledge, including in the field of civil methodology, on its philosophical and social assessment; the structure of scientific knowledge, including civil knowledge, is explored, which is formed by its three main levels - empirical, theoretical and philosophical. Attention is drawn to the methodological significance of philosophy, which lies primarily in the fact that within the framework of the philosophical system a general doctrine of method is developed – the theory of methodology, those general cognitive models (methods, approaches) are formed on the basis of which the subject of research is understood in a specific field of scientific research. cognition and a model of the cognitive process is built. The dialectical, ontological, epistemological philosophical methods of cognition and their role in understanding private law phenomena were subjected to a more detailed analysis. It is noted that the creative use of these and other philosophical methods (models) of cognition significantly raises and expands the heuristic potential of scientific research, including in the field of civil law.

The importance of the worldview aspect of philosophy in civil law methodology is shown, providing legal scholars with a holistic description of the picture of the world, nature, society, culture, people’s thinking, forms and methods of their interaction in society. Attention is drawn to the fact that civil definitions and categories express the intentions of their authors, which, in turn, are associated with the mentality of the era, with the prevailing ideas in society about private law, its value, purpose, laws, legal order in this area and etc.

The importance of general scientific methods of cognition for the methodology of civil law is shown. In particular, the importance of the systematic method of scientific knowledge in civil law is revealed, which contributes to the adequate formulation of legal problems, the development of an effective strategy for their research, orienting the scientist to reveal the integrity of the object of knowledge.

The role of the general scientific method of cognition – abstraction as a mental activity aimed at obtaining abstractions – ideal, non-existent models, images, concepts, etc., which are important in the methodology of civil law research, is also highlighted.

The necessity and usefulness of using in the methodology of civil law and such a general scientific method as modeling is substantiated, which allows creating in the process of scientific research an intermediate object of knowledge – a theoretical model with the help of which additional knowledge about the object of study can be obtained. At the same time, it is noted that in relation to objects of legal knowledge, including in the civil sphere, the use of the modeling method has its well-known limitations; here, during the modeling process, complete similarity (absolute adequacy) of the model to the original object (modeling object) cannot be achieved. In relation to the field of jurisprudence, the use of so-called homomorphic models is proposed as more suitable, in which the requirement for a one-to-one correspondence between the model and the modeled object is replaced by the requirement for a one-to-one correspondence between the model and the object

Logical and methodological models are also analyzed as general scientific methods of cognition in the methodology of civil law - analysis, synthesis, induction, the method of forming concepts and forming definitions, the method of using concepts in the same semantic meaning, and their influence on the understanding of private legal reality is shown.

A general conclusion is formulated that philosophical and general scientific methods of cognition play a vital role in the methodology of jurisprudence, including civil law cognition, determining its forms, structure, and general patterns of scientific thinking.