Evolutionary Development of Social Norms: from Ascriptiveness to Descriptiveness

The article is devoted to the analysis of such properties of normativity as ascriptivity and descriptivity, as well as the principle of the evolutionary development of norms. The article defines the content of the concept of “norm”, identifies two main interpretations of it: as a combination of a standard set of properties and as a sample of desirable behavior. It is argued that the second interpretation forms the idea of social norms. The problem investigated in the article is the presence of various properties of social norms and their corresponding requirements for people’s actions. Changing the conditions of existence of society entails a change in the relationship between ascriptive and descriptive social norms, that requires the identification of causes and possible consequences. The purpose of this work is to identify the evolutionary principle that leads to the transition from ascriptive to descriptive norms. The methodological basis of the work is the normative concept developed in the analytical philosophy of law, as well as the logic of the study of morality and religion in the philosophy of life of A. Bergson. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the approval of the evolutionary transition of ascriptive norms to descriptive ones with the preservation of a minimum number of the first ones. In addition, it is argued that the basis for such a transition is the development of technical means which ensure the independence of a man and society from the natural conditions of their existence.