2021/03/15 by Krister Bykvist · 9 citations
Arts and Humanities · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Mathematics · Psychology · #Analytic philosophy #Axiom #Contemporary philosophy #Economic Theory and Institutions #Economics #Epistemology #Equivalence (formal languages) #Linguistics #Mathematical economics #Mathematics #Metaphysics #Neutrality #Ontology #Philosophy #Philosophy and History of Science #Philosophy and Theoretical Science #Philosophy of language #Philosophy of mind #Philosophy of science #Positive economics #Statistics #Value (mathematics) #Value theory
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s11229-021-03071-1
published in Synthese 199(3-4), 6331-6356 (Springer Science+Business Media)
openalex publication_date 2021/03/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract Recently, there has been a revival in taking empirical magnitudes seriously. Weights, heights, velocities and the like have been accepted as abstract entities in their own right rather than just equivalence classes of objects. The aim of my paper is to show that this revival should include value magnitudes. If we posit such magnitudes, important value comparisons (cross-world, cross-time, mind to world, cross-theory, cross-polarity, ratio) can be easily explained; it becomes easier to satisfy the axioms for measurement of value; goodness, badness, and neutrality can be given univocal definitions; value aggregation can be given a non-mathematical understanding which allows for Moorean organic unities. Of course, this does not come for free. One has to accept a rich ontology of abstract value magnitudes, but, to quote David Lewis, ‘The price is right; the benefits in theoretical unity and economy are well worth the entities.’