Home – Home – Jornals – "Philosophy of Education" 2014 number 4

The purpose of this paper is an analysis of legal consciousness as a socio-philosophical category. The crisis of legal consciousness has been observed for a sufficiently long time by both Western and Russian researchers of the issue. It should be noted that in the Russian reality this problem has not only theoretical, but also purely practical relevance, which is dictated by the nature of political situation at the moment. Thus, the relevance of the study of this topic is determined by the absence of a holistic analysis of legal consciousness in terms of social philosophy. The phenomenon of legal consciousnessas a form of social consciousness has always been under scrutiny in the scientific literature. The sense of justice, with its own cultural status in the society is a real factor of changing the legal reality. The legal consciousness has a huge impact on all spheres of law in the society, and its role in the socio-legal system of the country is enormous. The study of legal consciousness as a phenomenon of social life is dictated by its structural complexity and insufficient knowledge of methodological approaches to the phenomenon. A socio-philosophical analysis can reveallegal consciousnessas a phenomenon of social life, reveal the relationship with social phenomena, and determine its place in the society as a whole. The article reveals various approaches to the category of «legal consciousness»: the legal, psychological and sociological ones. Social philosophy is considering legal consciousness as an object of philosophical analysis, exploring the nature of legal consciousness as a special form of social consciousness and examining its relationship to other forms of determination mechanism, the level of attitudes and personality. It should be noted that in science there are many definitions of legal consciousness. However, a number of common traits of legal consciousness can be identified. This social phenomenon must be considered in the system of social relations, such as public awareness and legal culture and socialization, alienation and so on, that leads to a deeper understanding of the social nature of this multi-faceted phenomenon. Legal consciousness is a form of social consciousness. This socio-philosophical analysis of legal consciousnesscan reveal its versatility, identify interdependencies of this phenomenon with other forms and processes of social life;it allows consideringlegal consciousnessas a complex social phenomenon, which has its own logic of development and content; it allows revealing the versatility of this social phenomenon, determining its relationship with other social phenomena.