Intellectual Nature of Law in the Basic Concepts of Understanding Law

Introduction: formation of legal norms and their transformation, creation of the legal system, specialization and sectoral differentiation of legal norms indicate constant qualitative, intellectually grounded development of law. In the article the author analyzes basic concepts of understanding law (natural, historical, psychological, normative, Marxist, of anthropological approach) in order to determine the essence (nature) of law. The study of essential foundations of law is a fundamental task not only for the theory of law and state, but also for other sciences (philosophy of law, sociology of law, history of legal doctrines). The purpose of the work is to study an intellectual nature of law on the basis of analysis of various concepts of understanding law. Methods: the author’s key conclusions and findings are based on the use of materialistic dialectics in comparative legal, sociological and historical methods. Discussions: it is noteworthy that in each concept of understanding law, intelligence (mind, reason, common sense) is considered by scientists as an integral element of the process of legal education. Conclusions: taking into account the stated above, the author proposes to consider law within the framework of an anthropological approach as a result of human intellectual activity not only by its origin, but also by its essential basis, its nature. The author puts forward the thesis that law is the result of intelligence-based thinking activity of a person and suggests the author’s definition of law.