Abstract

The article speaks for a distinction between “giving a reason” and “justifying”. Justifying, in contrast to giving a reason, requires a special normative context: justifying an action means to defend the action against the charge of norm violation. It is not only possible to justify an action but also to justify a norm. A norm constrains the freedom of the addressees, therefore it could be oppressive and that is the reason why it needs a justification – a justification which ensures that the norm which forbids oppression is not circumvented. The article offers a contractarian conception of the justification of norms