Normality and normativity in experience
pp. 128-139
in: Maxime Doyon, Thiemo Breyer (eds), Normativity in perception, Berlin, Springer, 2015Abstract
At first it seems odd to speak of something like normativity already within the realm of perceptual experience. Normativity obviously seems to be a concept of higher order that refers to the field of ethics, namely to the question of how we might define a good life or society and what norms should be implemented to realize it. But if one traces the historic-cultural roots of the term, one can find that the term norm stands for an angular measure or guideline in the practical context of ancient architecture (cf. Hoffmann, 1984; Kudlien, 1984). Here a norm is an arbitrary determination or fixation, for example a foot or a yard, which is then used as a standard measure to unify construction works. According to its history, a norm seems to be something that develops out of practical motivations to facilitate cooperation and intersubjective communication.