A contribution to a critical theory of law

The Critical Theory of Law is a rethinking of the fundamentals of Law, of the State and of the knowledge that is built upon these objects, although based on their own ideological presuppositions. The ideology is, therefore, a central category, defined as the self-image of society, an image that is manipulated by those who hold the social power, in the sense of replacing reality by beliefs that are relevant to the maintenance of this power. Among those beliefs are the myths formulated by the traditional western Juridical, Political and Social Philosophy, that represent the dominant paradigm in juridical knowledge; this model of knowledge, called Juridical Dogmatics, conceives an object free of ethical and political matters, limiting it to the study of the laws and their application to situations of conflict. The text lists those myths formulated by Science and Philosophy of Law and State, that have consequences upon the ontological and epistemological statutes that this traditional knowledge gives them. This mythology is introduced as general principles of law and State, that intend to be dogmatical truths, but the Critical Theory of Law questions this intention as it places them (the principles) in the ideological space of society, revealing their mythological dimension. To oppose those ideological presuppositions of Law and of the State, the text presents the fundamental theses of the Critical Theory of Law. So, this study is divided into the following four parts: 1 The mythological space of law. 2. The legal-political ideology. 3. Mythology and dogmatism in Jurisprudence. 4. Final reflections.