Normative Facts

A Fact in relation to a norm or standard.

Properties

• Value-oriented judgements.
  • Can be about ideals (how things should be)
  • Can be opinions (how you personally see things)
• It cannot be proven or denied
• Motive Internalism. Normative statements innately motivate

Contrasts with Positive Facts

Examples

• ‘Children should eat vegetables’
• ‘You should put your hand in the fire’
• ‘It is wrong to commit adultery’ (Note this is also a Moral Fact)
• ‘Orange is better than red’

Descriptive Claim $\nRightarrow$ Normative Claim

There is no way to get a normative claim from a descriptive claim. You can say descriptive claims like “If you kill my family I will feel bad”, but you cannot deduce that “You cannot kill”