Some normative theories are self-defeating. They tell us to respond to our situations in ways that bring about outcomes that are bad, given the aims of the theories, and which could have been avoided. Across a wide range of debates in ethics, decision theory, political philosophy, and formal epistemology, many philosophers treat the fact that a normative theory is self-defeating as sufficient grounds for rejecting it. I argue that this widespread and consequential assumption is false. In particular, I argue that a theory can be self-defeating and still internally consistent, action-guiding, and suitable as a standard for criticisn.

中文翻译：

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拥抱规范理论中的自我挫败

一些规范理论是弄巧成拙的。他们告诉我们，根据这些理论的目标，我们应对情况的方式会带来不好的结果，而这种结果本来是可以避免的。在伦理学、决策理论、政治哲学和形式认识论的广泛争论中，许多哲学家将规范理论弄巧成拙这一事实视为拒绝它的充分理由。我认为这种广泛且重要的假设是错误的。特别是，我认为一种理论可以是弄巧成拙的，但仍然具有内在一致性，可以指导行动，并且适合作为批评的标准。