In many disciplines, including
economics and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, a normative statement expresses a
value judgment about the desirability of a situation. Whereas a
descriptive statement In the philosophy of economics, a descriptive or positive statement is an assertion about facts of the world, while prescriptive or normative statements express value judgments. The former describe the world ''as it is'', while the latter talk ab ...
(also known as a positive statement) is meant to describe the world ''as it is'', a normative statement is meant to talk about the world ''as it should be''. For instance, "the world would be a better place if
the moon were made of green cheese" is a normative statement because it expresses a judgment about what ought to be. Normative statements are characterised by the modal verbs "should", "would", "could" or "must". In economics, normative statements form the basis of
normative economics.
See also
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Norm (philosophy)
*
Normative
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Normative science
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Normative ethics
Normative ethics is the study of ethical behaviour and is the branch of philosophical ethics that investigates the questions that arise regarding how one ought to act, in a moral sense.
Normative ethics is distinct from meta-ethics in that the ...
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Is–ought problem
The is–ought problem, as articulated by the Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume, arises when one makes claims about what ''ought'' to be that are based solely on statements about what ''is''. Hume found that there seems to be a signi ...
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Opinions in epistemology
References
External links
Economae: An Encyclopedia
Philosophy of economics
Statements
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