Subscriptivism

To 'subscribe' means literally to 'underwrite', and while those two terms are most commonly used in specialized contexts, i. e. when purchasing periodicals, or insurance, the essence of the former term is better illustrated in the legal standing of the signature, i. e. a piece of writing typically found on the lower part of a page.  For, a signature is accepted as an expression of free assent, and, concomitantly, as an assumption of responsibility.  Now, as has been previously discussed, if Kant's Categorical Imperative is a Prescription, then the free adoption of it, i. e. his 'willkur', is a Subscription to it.  Accordingly, it might be at least as accurate to classify his doctrine as 'Subscriptivist', than as 'Prescriptivist', as is more common.  Similarly, some of the subsequent 'Existentialist' tradition, because of decisive moments such as Nietzsche's 'affirmation', can also be characterized as 'Subscriptivist'.  In these doctrines, as is the case in Kant's, such moments are decisive because of their causal efficacy, in contrast with a mere Prescription, which, as occurs in ordinary pharmaceutical contexts, does not suffice to activate its wording, i. e. also required is a doctor's signature.  So, 'Subscriptivism' is one characterization of an influential contemporary Moral doctrine, and, perhaps, of any in which free assent is an essential element.