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1、BeliefandnormativityPascalEngelUniversityofGenevaAbstractThethesisthatmentalcontentisnormativeisambiguousandhasmanyforms.Thisarticledealsonlywiththethesisthatnormativityisconnectedtoourmentalattitudesratherthanwiththecontentoftheattitudes,andmorespecifi
2、callywiththeviewthatitisconnectedtobelief.Anumberofwritershaveproposedvariousversionsofa‘normoftruth’attachedtobelief.Iexaminevariousversionsofthisclaim,anddefenditagainstre-centcriticismsaccordingtowhichthisnormlacksnormativeforce,thatitviolatestheprin
3、ciplethat‘oughtimpliescan,’andthatitisviciouslycircu-lar.Idefendtheviewthatweshoulddistinguishthestatementoftheob-jectivenormandthewayitisregulated,andthatthisdistinctioncanan-swermostofthecriticismsofthenormoftruthforbelief.1.Introduction:issuesaboutno
4、rmativityItseemstobeaplatitudethatbeliefisgovernedbyanormoftruth.Isnotthepointofbelieftobelievetruths?Isnotitarequirementofbelievingthatweshouldnotbelievefalsehoods?Anumberofphi-losophers,however,denythis.Althoughtheyrecognisethatthereisanintimateconnec
5、tionbetweenbeliefandtruth,theyrejecttheideathatthisconnectionisnormative.Indeed,theytellus,beliefs‘aim’attruthinthesensethattobelievethatPistobelievethatPistrue,orinthesensethatitisthe‘directionoffit’forbeliefsthattheyshouldadapttotheworld,butthereisnom
6、oreinthisthanatrivialfactaboutbeliefasapropositionalattitude.Toelevatethistrivialfacttothestatusofa‘norm’istotransformaninnocentplatitudeintoapompousfalsehood.Forthereisnothingnormativeaboutbelieving:neitherwebelievewithaneyefixedonthehorizonofanidealof
7、truthnorweobeyanyprescriptiontobelievethetruth.Onthecontrary,webelieveallsortsofthings,somerational,someirra-tional,somejustified,someunjustified,sometrue,somefalse,andthereisnoparticularnormthatwefollow,noparticularprescriptionthatweobeyandnoparticular
8、sanctionthatweincurwhenwegooffDisputatio,Vol.II,No.23,November2007(specialissue)180PascalEngeltrack.Believingisjustanaturalmentalstate,whichhascertaincausesandcertaineffects,andwhichanswersnoparticularrationalornor-mativeessence.