Genialität und Chaos bei Rudolf von Jhering

Abstract

Rudolf von Jhering’s major works – Geist des römischen Rechts, Kampf ums Recht, and Der Zweck im Recht – contain many genius insights but are also often chaotic in both form and substance. Both these sides had their roots in Jhering’s multifaceted, and often contradictory personality which entailed a repeated failure to control the complex and proliferating material. As a result, both sides were intimately connected – we cannot have one without the other. All this makes reading Jhering’s major works both greatly rewarding and deeply frustrating.