Normative science is a term used by Charles S. Peirce to denote one of the three philosophical disciplines (logic, ethics, and aesthetics) concerned with providing a general theory of normative behavior (of human action, insofar as it could be regulated by norms and ideals).
In one of his descriptions, Peirce characterized logic as a theory of self-controlled extraction, ethics as a theory of self-control in general, and aesthetics as a pursuit of the highest good (the ultimate goal of human behavior).
Peirce believed that the highest good was the constant growth of concrete intelligence.
Because he maintained the belief that the study of signs either fell into the focus of logic, or was simply another name for logic, and because he classified logic among the normative sciences, he claimed that the study of signs was part of the normative sciences.
