In 1981 Carlos E. Alchourron and Eugenio Bulygin distinguished for the first time between two different conceptions of norms: the Hyletic and the Expressive. According to the former, norms are conceived as proposition-like entities with a...
moreIn 1981 Carlos E. Alchourron and Eugenio Bulygin distinguished for the first time between two different conceptions of norms: the Hyletic and the Expressive. According to the former, norms are conceived as proposition-like entities with a prescriptive meaning, which are independent from linguistic expressions. According to the latter, norms are essentially commands, the product of a directive use of language. We endeavour to: i) Provide a brief reconstruction of these conceptions; ii) Offer a critical analysis of what, from our point of view, are the main problems that they seem to have. That is: a) A naive conception of meaning; b) The idea of mutual exclusion; c) The pragmatic logic for the Expressive conception; d) The suspicion of some hypostatization implied in the Hyletic conception.
Keywords:
Alchourron – Bulygin – Expressive – Hyletic – Logic of norms – Speech Acts – Weinberger
