Das Feststehende bestimmt das Mögliche

A certain understanding of natural history makes it possible to comprehend the relationship between mankind and the world as one which is contingent but not arbitrary. It is in this understanding that one can see the basis of normativity, which determines the compliance with rules or the assessment of what is possible. The systematic approach presented here takes the place of purely naturalistic descriptions and realistic or conventionalist theories. Established structures for valid inferences and judgements are in addition a prerequisite for language to serve as a medium of memory for experiences in the world. In a study of classics of analytic (linguistic) philosophy, the author of this work takes a position which permits him to specify what these established structures consist of without assuming a logical or an ontological a priori and without following essentialist (Kripke), radically relativistic (Goodman, Abel) or coherentist (Davidson) schools of thought.