Análise comportamental do direito: uma abordagem do direito como ciência do comportamento humano aplicada

Abstract

The article puts forth a new approach to legal studies named behavioral analysis of law. It begins by redefining the fact of the ought as what behavior analysts call rules, that is, sets of complex behavioral patterns which help individuals to adapt their behavior to human and nonhuman environmental contingencies without having to expose themselves directly to such contingencies. It continues by explaining the epistemological foundation of such rules on the basis of which a formal structure to describe them is proposed. Then the article analyses in detail the structure of legal norms in terms of their component rules, which are classified in three groups, namely relevant behavioral premises, social goals, and legal contingencies.