Abstract
This article explores the normative nature of institutions. The starting point of my investigation is Kahneman, Knetsch and Thaler’s notion of the reference transaction from which I derive a recursive relationship between normative judgements and social practices (i.e. regular, routinised actions in a social group), an implication of which I call the “self-justification of practices”. Drawing on John Dewey, I demonstrate how prevailing practices influence normative standards and thus how institutions become normative entities. I then show how, despite the conservative bias of normative standards, institutional change comes about. Finally, I enquire into the possibility of normative critique of prevailing practices and institutions.
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Peacock, M. Institutional Normativity and the Evolution of Morals: A Behavioural Approach to Ethics. J Bus Ethics 95, 283–296 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0359-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0359-7