Phenomenology and Mind

No. 13 (2017): Norm: What Is It? Ontological and Pragmatical Perspectives
Section 3. Norms, Existence, and Normative Events

Norms, Norms, and Norms: Validity, Existence and Referents of the Term Norm in Alexy, Conte, and Guastini

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  • Alice Borghi,
  • Guglielmo Feis
Alice Borghi
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Guglielmo Feis
Università degli Studi di Milano
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13128/Phe_Mi-22434

Published 2017-12-30

Keywords

  • ontology of norm,
  • Amedeo Giovanni Conte,
  • Robert Alexy,
  • Riccardo Guastini

How to Cite

Borghi, A., & Feis, G. (2017). Norms, Norms, and Norms: Validity, Existence and Referents of the Term Norm in Alexy, Conte, and Guastini. Phenomenology and Mind, (13), 120–126. https://doi.org/10.13128/Phe_Mi-22434
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Abstract

In this paper we examine the interplay between validity and existence of a norm. We compare Amedeo Giovanni Conte’s five-folded conception of norm with the “semantic” conception of Robert Alexy’s and Riccardo Guastini’s idea of existence-as-legal-membership. We show how Alexy’s model encompasses all the referents of Conte. We investigate the interplay between different theses on the relationships between validity and existence of norms and the referents for norm that a theory is able to admit. In particular, we show that if we want to encompass all five Contean referents we have to give up the (Kelsenian) validity-as-existence thesis.

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