Abstract
The normative dimension is essential in social life. In this work, it is claimed that a crucial aspect of the normative mechanism is the normative request, which plays a fundamental role in the spreading of normative behaviours. A social norm is here defined to be such only if it is associated with a normative request (want) that it be observed. However, within both the rational decision theory and, more recently, the multi agent systems research, norms have so far been viewed essentially as conventions. Little reference, if any, has been made to the prescriptive character of norms, that is, to the normative requests.
Here it is intended to draw the attention on the prescriptive character of norms and its role in controlling and regulating the behaviours of agents subject to them. Furthermore, a mentalistic notion of norms, allowing autonomous agents to become normative agents as well, is proposed. Some crucial problems concerning the mental nature of norms will be raised — for example, how are norms represented in the agents' minds? Should they be seen as a specific mental object, and if so, which one? Which relation do they bear to beliefs and goals? Why does an autonomous agent comply with norms? Some initial solutions will be proposed.
A preliminary version of this paper has been presented at the '93 AAAI Spring Symposium Series on “Reasoning about mental states: Formal theories and applications”
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Conte, R., Castelfranchi, C. (1995). Norms as mental objects. From normative beliefs to normative goals. In: Castelfranchi, C., Müller, JP. (eds) From Reaction to Cognition. MAAMAW 1993. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 957. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0027064
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0027064
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