Kto powiedział, że chłopaki nie płaczą, a dziewczynki są zawsze miłe? O normatywnym charakterze pewnych typów zdań gatunkowych

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of normative reading of a certain type of general statements – namely, generics. More specifically, it attempts to present the notion of norm and normativity (in philosophical and pragmatic context) and to offer a brief semantic and syntactic description of linguistic exponents of deontic meanings. At the same time, the author draws the attention to the difference between the normative and descriptive sense of utterances. The article focuses on the way this dichotomy is related to the normative force exhibited by generics where the nominal group refers to the so-called dual character concepts. Dual character seems to arise only in the case of only such social kinds (categories) that are – by widespread social agreement – expected to perform some important social role or function (e.g. a mother). It appears that the descriptive/normative duality is located in the polysemy of nouns functioning as the generic names of these kinds rather than in different logical forms. Interestingly, the fulfillment of normative criteria for an ideal (i.e. the fulfillment of social role attributed to the kind) is neither necessary nor sufficient for being a member of this kind in the descriptive sense.