The Anti-Norm

Abstract

This paper draws on extant accounts of social norms, and evaluates their ability to countenance the possibility of the anti-norm: a universally disliked, judged to be harmful, but enforced social norm. If all accounts considered can account for such a norm then it could theoretically exist, if only some account for this norm then a strong argument is created for the existence of this norm; if none account for this norm, then, such a norm could not exist. First, I will define my terms for both social norms and the anti-norm. Next, I will characterize three leading accounts of social norms. In section 3 I will argue for how some social norms don't fall into the definitions explained by the three accounts. In the section after, counter arguments will be examined and refuted. Lastly, I will conclude by sketching future ideas that could explain the persistence of norms that don’t fit the definitions previously mentioned.