The article focuses on the analysis of a range of fundamental aspects pertaining to the pluralism of understanding of law. In particular, based on the findings of a unique etymological and legal research conducted in the early 2000s at the faculty of law of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, more than a dozen different social phenomena have been identified which are still referred to using the term “law”. These include: freedom of an individual, that is, the space for realizing the possibilities of human behavior (activity); justice as a certain property of social phenomena, in particular, human actions, which is assessed with regard to certain subjects of society; rules (standards) of various origin concerning human behavior, including customs and traditions; part of morals; only such standards of behavior which are regarded as fair by one or another subject; standards of behavior established particularly by the State, its bodies or officials; agreements (contracts) entered into by participants to social relations; social relations of a certain kind; communication (discourse) between subjects; requirements (claims) of subjects requesting certain benefits and values which are addressed to society, the State or other persons; possibilities for satisfying human needs and interests of participants to social relations; interests of social groups or society on the whole protected by the State or other public authority; balancing (“counterweighting”) of interests of individuals and their groups against each other; feelings, experiences, emotions of participants to social relations.

The author clarifies the main causes of the plurality of understanding of law (social and epistemological ones). The particular common feature of these phenomena is ascertained owing to which, if it is present, the stakeholders can denote such phenomena using one and the same term and notion – “law”. This feature is the capability of relevant phenomena to facilitate the satisfaction of needs and interests which certain subjects of society have (whether individual or collective). Finally, it is summarized that in the context of such a methodological – the so-called need-based approach, law should be regarded as the possibilities of meeting certain human needs which are necessary for the existence and development of participants to social life, depend on the achieved level to which a specific historical society has developed and are backed by social responsibilities of its respective subjects.