0:00:00.185,0:00:05.185
(gentle music)

0:00:06.047,0:00:07.964
- [Kelly] Hi, I'm Kelly Schiffman.

0:00:07.964,0:00:10.406
I'm a PHD student at Yale University

0:00:10.406,0:00:12.425
and today I wanna talk[br]about the distinction

0:00:12.425,0:00:16.157
between normative and descriptive claims.

0:00:16.157,0:00:18.445
So, people make claims all the time.

0:00:18.445,0:00:21.607
Someone might say, "The[br]sky is beautiful today."

0:00:21.607,0:00:23.247
Or, "I just saw a UFO."

0:00:23.247,0:00:25.186
Or "Chris Rick is hilarious!"

0:00:25.186,0:00:28.726
Or "The Golden Gate Bridge[br]is in San Francisco."

0:00:28.726,0:00:30.468
Now, of course, it's[br]important for us to figure out

0:00:30.468,0:00:33.028
whether claims like[br]these are true or false

0:00:33.028,0:00:34.671
but before we can do that it's important

0:00:34.671,0:00:37.369
to understand what sort of claim it is.

0:00:37.369,0:00:38.591
Philosophers find it useful

0:00:38.591,0:00:41.829
to distinguish between two[br]different sorts of claims:

0:00:41.829,0:00:45.287
normative claims and descriptive claims.

0:00:45.287,0:00:47.187
When you make a descriptive claim,

0:00:47.187,0:00:49.047
you're describing something.

0:00:49.047,0:00:51.287
You merely express your understanding

0:00:51.287,0:00:53.747
of how something is or could be

0:00:53.747,0:00:56.008
without offering any even implicit

0:00:56.008,0:00:58.629
evaluation of it relative to a standard,

0:00:58.629,0:01:00.749
or ideal, or alternative.

0:01:00.749,0:01:03.269
Examples of descriptive claims include:

0:01:03.269,0:01:05.949
"The moon is made of cheese."

0:01:05.949,0:01:08.048
"Dinosaurs used to exist."

0:01:08.048,0:01:09.866
"Obama's president."

0:01:09.866,0:01:12.248
"That boys has large ears."

0:01:12.248,0:01:14.689
"I could have more money."

0:01:14.689,0:01:16.670
Notice that even if I'm likely to have an

0:01:16.670,0:01:19.488
opinion about somebody having large ears

0:01:19.488,0:01:21.248
or the fact that I could have more money

0:01:21.248,0:01:23.430
this opinion isn't being expressed

0:01:23.430,0:01:25.550
in the descriptive claim itself.

0:01:25.550,0:01:28.266
Based just on the claim, you can't tell

0:01:28.266,0:01:31.985
whether I think the way[br]things are is better or worse

0:01:31.985,0:01:33.949
than the way they could be.

0:01:33.949,0:01:35.628
When you make a normative claim

0:01:35.628,0:01:38.948
you express your evaluation of something.

0:01:38.948,0:01:41.568
When you evaluate something[br]you're assessing it,

0:01:41.568,0:01:44.666
often implicitly,[br]relative to some standard,

0:01:44.666,0:01:47.886
or ideal, or alternative[br]way that it could be.

0:01:47.886,0:01:49.548
It's to say that something is,

0:01:49.548,0:01:52.146
well, in some respect,[br]better than or worse than

0:01:52.146,0:01:54.989
or on par with some standard,

0:01:54.989,0:01:56.989
or ideal, or alternative.

0:01:56.989,0:02:00.308
When you make normative[br]claims we often use words like

0:02:00.308,0:02:03.946
good or bad or better than.

0:02:03.946,0:02:08.847
For example, "Leonardo Di[br]Caprio's a really good actor."

0:02:08.847,0:02:10.327
That's a normative claim.

0:02:10.327,0:02:14.208
Or that "Tomatoes taste bad[br]but ketchup tastes great."

0:02:14.208,0:02:16.926
Or "My math class is no better than

0:02:16.926,0:02:20.047
"and no worse than my English class."

0:02:20.047,0:02:21.846
These are all normative claims.

0:02:21.846,0:02:24.868
They contain an element of evaluation.

0:02:24.868,0:02:27.827
Normative claims also include words like

0:02:27.827,0:02:29.587
should and shouldn't

0:02:29.587,0:02:31.227
or right and wrong.

0:02:31.227,0:02:34.347
Example, "You should do your homework."

0:02:34.347,0:02:36.566
"You shouldn't pick your nose."

0:02:36.566,0:02:39.606
"It's not okay to steal a candy bar."

0:02:39.606,0:02:42.893
"Sending a thank you note[br]is the right thing to do."

0:02:42.893,0:02:45.733
These are also normative claims.

0:02:45.733,0:02:48.534
But there are many, many[br]more evaluative words

0:02:48.534,0:02:50.875
that can appear in normative claims.

0:02:50.875,0:02:54.374
Consider the following, "It's fine to eat

0:02:54.374,0:02:56.316
"three burgers a day."

0:02:56.316,0:02:59.054
"The movie was ridiculous."

0:02:59.054,0:03:01.814
"Broccoli is disgusting."

0:03:01.814,0:03:03.973
"Video games are awesome."

0:03:03.973,0:03:07.693
And, "It's not cool to skip school."

0:03:07.693,0:03:11.013
These are all normative claims as well.

0:03:11.013,0:03:13.293
Now, once we figure out whether a claim is

0:03:13.293,0:03:15.053
normative or descriptive that helps us

0:03:15.053,0:03:18.413
to assess its truth,[br]answer certain questions,

0:03:18.413,0:03:20.594
settle certain disagreements.

0:03:20.594,0:03:24.234
Consider a case in which you[br]think our neighbor's car is red

0:03:24.234,0:03:26.074
and I think it's not.

0:03:26.074,0:03:27.134
I think it's blue.

0:03:27.134,0:03:29.952
Here we're disagreeing[br]about a descriptive claim.

0:03:29.952,0:03:32.254
So, all we need to do to[br]settle the disagreement

0:03:32.254,0:03:33.324
is to figure out whether

0:03:33.324,0:03:35.524
that descriptive claim is true or not.

0:03:35.524,0:03:37.302
We need to figure out how the world is.

0:03:37.302,0:03:40.221
So, contrast this with[br]a case in which you say

0:03:40.221,0:03:42.320
that red cars are better than blue cars

0:03:42.320,0:03:45.281
and I say that blue cars[br]are better than blue cars.

0:03:45.281,0:03:48.279
Here we're disagreeing[br]over normative claims

0:03:48.279,0:03:50.101
so what we need to do[br]is sort through that.

0:03:50.101,0:03:52.737
For example, I might[br]argue that well blue cars

0:03:52.737,0:03:54.392
are better than red cars because red cars

0:03:54.392,0:03:57.551
get pulled over[br]disproportionately by the police.

0:03:57.551,0:04:00.070
Here we're working[br]through a normative issue.

0:04:00.070,0:04:01.853
Either way, getting clear[br]on whether something's

0:04:01.853,0:04:03.992
a normative claim or a descriptive claim

0:04:03.992,0:04:06.052
is the first step towards figuring out

0:04:06.052,0:04:10.451
and towards settling debates like this.