View source for Philosophy:Normative science

{{Short description|Aspect of science}}
In the applied sciences, '''normative science''' is a type of information that is developed, presented, or interpreted based on an assumed, usually unstated, preference for a particular outcome, policy or class of policies or outcomes.<ref>Lackey, Robert T. (2004).  [https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/lackey/files/2017/07/2004c-Normative-Science-Reprint-Lackey.pdf "Normative science"]. ''Fisheries''. American Fisheries Society. 29(7): 38–39.</ref>  Regular or traditional [[Science|science]] does not presuppose a [[Policy|policy]] preference, but [[Philosophy:Normative|normative]] science, by definition, does.<ref>Ooms, Gorik. (2014). "From international health to global health: how to foster better dialogue between empirical and normative disciplines". ''BMC International Health and Human Rights''. 14: 36. {{doi|10.1186/s12914-014-0036-5}}</ref>  Common examples of such policy preferences are arguments that pristine ecosystems are preferable to human altered ones, that native species are preferable to nonnative species, and that higher [[Biology:Biodiversity|biodiversity]] is preferable to lower biodiversity.<ref>Lackey, Robert T. (2007). "Science, scientists, and policy advocacy". ''Conservation Biology''. 21(1): 12-17. {{doi|10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00639.x}}</ref><ref name=Wilhere>Wilhere, George F. (2012). "Inadvertent advocacy". ''Conservation Biology''. 26(1): 39–46. {{doi|10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01805.x}}</ref>

In more general philosophical terms, normative science is a form of [[Inquiry|inquiry]], typically involving a community of inquiry and its accumulated body of provisional knowledge, that seeks to discover good ways of achieving recognized aims, ends, goals, objectives, or purposes.<ref>Sabine, George H. (1912). "Descriptive and normative sciences". ''The Philosophical Review''. 21(4): 433-450. {{JSTOR|2177252}}</ref><ref>Brueckner, Martin and Pierre Horwitz. (2005). "The use of science in environmental policy: a case study of the Regional Forest Agreement process in Western Australia". ''Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy''. 1(2): 14–24. {{doi|10.1080/15487733.2005.11907969}}</ref>  Many political debates revolve around arguments over which of the many "good ways" shall be selected.<ref>Short, T. L. (2012). [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/496890 "Normative science?"] ''Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society''. 48(3): 310–334. {{JSTOR|10.2979/trancharpeirsoc.48.3.310}}</ref>  For example, when presented as scientific information, words such as [[Biology:Ecosystem health|ecosystem health]], [[Biology:Biological integrity|biological integrity]], and environmental degradation are typically examples of normative science because they each presuppose a policy preference and are therefore a type of policy advocacy.<ref name=Wilhere/><ref>Landis, Wayne G. (2007). "The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill revisited and the dangers of normative science". ''Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management''. 3(3): 439–441. {{doi|10.1002/ieam.5630030312}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col}}
* Descriptive science
* [[Social:Environmental policy|Environmental policy]]
* [[Philosophy:Fact–value distinction|Fact–value distinction]]
* [[Philosophy:Is–ought problem|Is–ought problem]]
* [[Finance:Normative economics|Normative economics]]
* [[Philosophy:Normative ethics|Normative ethics]]
* Policy advocacy
* [[Truth]]
{{div end}}

== References ==
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{{Philosophy of science}}

[[Category:Philosophy of science]]



{{Sourceattribution|Normative science}}