The varieties of normativity

There are a variety of phenomena that appear to be normative in one way or another, and not always in the same way. This chapter explores what the author takes to be the most fundamental division within the normative: that between merely formal normativity and full-blooded authoritative normativity. It then discusses a series of further distinctions within the normative and argues that all of these crosscut the formal-authoritative distinction, which is sui generis. The chapter present reasons for skepticism about authoritative normativity. This, like most forms of philosophical skepticism, is advocated not so much because the author is convinced; rather, it is part of the venerable tradition of trying to get philosophers to stop being so easy on themselves. Philosophers have proposed understanding both morality and epistemology in terms of virtues, stable character traits that produce or prevent certain characteristic effects.