Chris--
You said:
I meant the same as I assume James meant, that is just that it is about how things should be. In that weak sense I suppose all or nearly all the criteria mentioned at EM are "normative", so the phrase could be reserved for criteria that are based on or prescribe the more desirable (or "fundamental") standards.
I reply:
MY other question was "Who decides which criteria are normative?". Your answer suggests that when someone says that a criterion is normative, they're expressing their personal opinion that a criterion is based on or prescribes the more desirable or fundamental standards. Ok, that's all I wanted to find oiut.
Of course desirability is a purely individual subjective matter. The fact that a criterion is based on a fundamental standard needn't mean much. A fundamental standard is merely one that doesn't result from another standard. It could be a lousy one almost no one likes or values.
So far, then "normative" doesn't mean a whole lot, does it.
Mike Ossipoff
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