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[This was posted on the History and Philosophy of Science list, and Roy 
Weintraub thought it might interest some members of HES. Some may be able 
to 
contribute direct answers to the question posed, or might want to discuss 
whether economics is a normative science in the senses suggested. Please 
note 
that the original poster of the message, David Hyder, is not a subscriber 
to 
HES. - RBE] 
 
A dispute has been simmering in our department over the correct 
extension of the term "normative," with some wanting to reserve it  
for disciplines such as logic and ethics, and others, more in line with 
some contemporary Anglo-american authors, extending it to cover 
linguistic conventions, etc. 
 
Thumbing through the OED, I confirmed my suspicion that the 
philosophical use of the term in English, as in "the normative 
sciences" is traceable back to 19th German sources: the earliest use 
they have is an English translation of Wundtˆs Ethics, where Wundt 
terms as normative sciences: logic, ethics based on psychology, and 
physical engineering. 
 
Obviously the word was of great polemical importance in the 
psychology/philosophy wars that emerged in German departments around 
the time. I'd be interested in any references that precede Wundt. 
(Obviously Wundt's usage is a plus to those of us who favour a more 
general application of the term.) 
 
 
David Hyder 
Centre for Philosophy of Science 
University of Konstanz 
 
 
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