As man organised himself in settlements around the world, law and order became a necessity to achieve a proper balance between the freedom of choice of the individual and the control of this freedom for the protection of others. Hence, order and ultimately law prevailed and must endure if people are to be enabled to interact within a society devoid of conflict, struggle and friction.
It is significant to the engineer that this idea of the need for law is referred to by some as social engineering, thus expanding the horizon of engineering from a restrictive scene, involving applied science, to a much wider sphere encompassing the analysis and design of the society in which one wishes to live. This reference also brings science, with its powerful means of analysis, design and solution, to bear upon the concept of law. While the concept of identifying law with a scientific process and applying scientific principles to the analysis of social and legal problems owes a lot to the French philosopher Comte (who in 1837 invented the term ‘sociology’ for such social studies), the genesis of sociology can be traced to the earliest records of human thought in the ancient civilisations of Assyria, Babylon, China, Egypt, India and Persia. In most of these civilisations, as the concept of law became acceptable, it was found necessary to ensure that laws, when enacted, were not only enforceable but also enforced. The idea of a supreme power behind that concept was born and the law was attributed to the gods. Thus in Mesopotamia around 2000 BC it was believed that there existed three gods: Anu, the god of sky who issued decrees which commanded obedience as they emanated from supreme divinity; Enlil, the god of earth who executed the sentence of the gods on those who did not obey; and Ea, the god of water and wisdom. The law in Mesopotamia was therefore believed to have been handed down from the gods and was codified for the use of ordinary people as early as the year 2100 BC, by the Sumerian King Ur Nammu of Ur. The most famous of that era is Hammurabi’s Code of 1760 BC.
It is significant to the engineer that this idea of the need for law is referred to by some as social engineering, thus expanding the horizon of engineering from a restrictive scene, involving applied science, to a much wider sphere encompassing the analysis and design of the society in which one wishes to live. This reference also brings science, with its powerful means of analysis, design and solution, to bear upon the concept of law. While the concept of identifying law with a scientific process and applying scientific principles to the analysis of social and legal problems owes a lot to the French philosopher Comte (who in 1837 invented the term ‘sociology’ for such social studies), the genesis of sociology can be traced to the earliest records of human thought in the ancient civilisations of Assyria, Babylon, China, Egypt, India and Persia. In most of these civilisations, as the concept of law became acceptable, it was found necessary to ensure that laws, when enacted, were not only enforceable but also enforced. The idea of a supreme power behind that concept was born and the law was attributed to the gods. Thus in Mesopotamia around 2000 BC it was believed that there existed three gods: Anu, the god of sky who issued decrees which commanded obedience as they emanated from supreme divinity; Enlil, the god of earth who executed the sentence of the gods on those who did not obey; and Ea, the god of water and wisdom. The law in Mesopotamia was therefore believed to have been handed down from the gods and was codified for the use of ordinary people as early as the year 2100 BC, by the Sumerian King Ur Nammu of Ur. The most famous of that era is Hammurabi’s Code of 1760 BC.
Hammurabi was the sixth and best-known king of Babylon’s first dynasty and his code is of special interest here because it contains the earliest available recorded rules of codified construction law. In all, there were 282 rules found inscribed on an imposing stone stele in cuneiform script.1 The rules were divided into three sections: property law, family law and laws relating to retaliation and restitution. Part of the latter section, entitled ‘On the Construction of Houses and of Ships’, dealt with construction law and contained thirteen....
To Be Continued....
0 comments:
Post a Comment