Normativity shapes description and interpretation

What the study found: The paper argues that normativity shapes how people perceive and interpret the world, making fully neutral description unattainable.
Why the authors say this matters: The authors suggest this has implications for business ethics, where ethical conflicts can be reframed as a lack of normative references. They conclude that a perspective of moral perspectivism is proposed.
What the researchers tested: The paper explores the ontological relationship between the descriptive and the normative by drawing on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept of "grammar" and Martin Heidegger’s notion of das Man, meaning the impersonal everyday "they" or social norm.
What worked and what didn't: The paper states that descriptive neutrality is not possible because descriptions are always informed by norms, and norms also evolve through descriptions. It presents this intertwined relationship as the central result.
What to keep in mind: The abstract does not describe empirical testing, and it does not provide limitations beyond the scope of the philosophical argument.

Key points

• The paper argues that descriptive neutrality is unattainable because norms shape perception and interpretation.
• It says descriptions are informed by norms, and norms evolve through descriptions.
• The authors connect this idea to business ethics by reframing ethical conflicts as a lack of normative references.
• The paper proposes a perspective of moral perspectivism.
• The argument draws on Wittgenstein’s "grammar" and Heidegger’s das Man.