Between Facts and Norms - Contributions to a ... - Blogs Unpad

159A Reconstructive Approach to Law IIlegitimately expect of one another. As soon as the codes oflaw andpower are set up, deliberation and decision making take on thedifferentiated form of political opinion- and will-formation. On theone hand, the collectivity that deliberates and decides separatesfrom those parts or agencies that act for it, that is, that can apply andcarry out approved programs. On the other hand, the collectivitycomposed of members of society transforms itself into one composedof legal consociates who, as enfranchised citizens, exercisetheir autonomy within a system of rights in need of interpretationand elaboration. Law not only confers a certain form on conflictregulatingnorms; it also imposes certain limits on the realizationof collective goals. The programs translated into the language oflaw have either themselves the form of statutory law (if necessary,they can also take the form of special legislation and private bills orvarious regulatory directives), or they link up with existing law. Indeliberations over policies and laws, the basic question "Whatought we to do?" is differentiated according to the kind of materialin need of regulation. The meaning of "ought" remains unspecifiedas long as the relevant problem and the aspect under which itcan be solved are undetermined. I want to specify these aspectsalong the lines of pragmatic, ethical, and moral issues. The standpointsof expediency, goodness, and justice each define a differentuse of practical reason. These correspond to different types ofdiscourse, which I can only outline in broad strokes here.27Pragmatic questions pose themselves from the perspective of anactor seeking suitable means for realizing goals and preferencesthat are already given. The goals themselves can also becomeproblematic. In that case, the issue is no longer simply that ofrationally selecting means but one of weighing goals rationally inthe light of accepted value preferences. Even here the actor's willis still fixed by interests or value orientations, remaining open tofurther determinations only with regard to alternative means orgoals. The rationally justified choice of techniques or strategies ofaction calls for comparisons and weighings that the actor, supportedby observations and prognoses, can carry out from thestandpoint of efficiency or other decision rules. The value-orientedweighing of goals and the purposive-rational choice of means leadto hypothetical recommendations that in terre late perceived causes