Although the common law of contract is often said to favour ‘objectivity’, it sometimes seems to adopt a ‘subjective’ standard. The apparent tendency to switch between rival standards troubles many contract scholars. In response, some seek to vindicate objectivity alone as the one true standard. Others propose a single abstract theoretical rationale that can allegedly encompass both standards. I suggest a different approach. I try to develop a fuller appreciation of what the objective and subjective standards are and what they seek to achieve. I conclude that each is a substantive ethical ideal that specifies certain minimal requirements of decency in business dealing. On this view, the two standards are not rivals but complementary. Nor need we invoke any more abstract theoretical rationale to understand them.

中文翻译：

---

协调合同法的客观和主观标准

尽管普通法合同常被认为有利于“客观性”，但有时它似乎采用“主观”标准。在竞争标准之间进行转换的明显趋势令许多合同学者感到困扰。作为回应，一些人试图证明客观性才是唯一的真正标准。其他人提出了一个单一的抽象理论原理，据称可以涵盖这两个标准。我建议采用不同的方法。我尝试更全面地了解客观和主观标准是什么以及它们想要实现的目标。我的结论是，每一个都是一种实质性的道德理想，规定了商业交易中某些最低限度的礼仪要求。从这个角度来看，这两个标准不是竞争对手，而是互补的。我们也不需要援引任何更抽象的理论原理来理解它们。