Value Judgements, Positive and Normative Statements

Value Judgements, Positive and Normative Statements

1. POSITIVE STATEMENT= a statement that can be tested against real-world data

   • (it can be checked against evidence to see whether it is true or false)
   • e.g. 'the moon is made of green cheese', this is completely false but it can be checked so it is a POSITIVE STATEMENT

2. NORMATIVE STATEMENT= opinions that require value judgements to be made

   • (it is a personal opinion that others may disagree to, it cannot be tested to see if it's true or false)
   • e.g. 'pollution is the most serious economic problem', this is subjective as it's someone's opinion so it's a NORMATIVE STATEMENT

3. VALUE JUDGEMENT= statements or opinions expressed that are not testable or cannot be verified and depend very much on the views of the individual and the values they hold

   • (opinions of an individual which may not be shared by everyone)
   • e.g. 'Britain should adopt the Euro', different people would agree and disagree so it's a VALUE JUDGEMENT