A Philosophy of Comparisons: Theory, Practice and the Limits of Ethics

265 Pages·2021·2.47 MB·English

by  Hartmut von Sass

A Philosophy of Comparisons
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ii
A Philosophy of Comparisons
Th eory, Practice and the Limits of Ethics
Hartmut von Sass
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In Memoriam

Prof. Minouche (2011–17)
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vi
Contents
Introduction: Comparisons – A Marginalised Classic 1
1. To Begin With: A Telling Imbalance 1
2. Comparisons/Comparing: State of the Field 2
3. Comparisons: A Historical Remainder 4
4. Comparisons: Structure/Grammar/Limits 5
5. On What Follows: An Overview 6
Part I Comparison as Structure and Comparing as Practice 13
1 Comparisons. A General Account 15
1. Introduction: How to Approach the Topic? 15
2. On the Architecture of Reasonable Comparisons 18
2.1. Conditions and Preconditions 18
2.2. Comparisons as Complex Relations 19
2.3. Who C(omp)ares? 21
2.4. Comparative Relata 22
2.5. Th e tertium comparationis 24
2.6. Comparative Contextualism 25
2.7. On Reasonable Comparisons. An Annotation 28
3. On the Diff erences of Similarity 30
4. Two Demarcations 32
4.1. Comparisons and Analogies 32
4.2. Comparisons and Metaphors 34
5. Comparisons and their Functions 39
6. Comparative Limits 41
2 Comparisons. A Typology 45
1. Introduction: Diff erent Types – One Structure 45
2. A Typology 46
2.1. Simple/Complex 46
2.2. Result-Oriented/Experimental or Explorative 47
2.3. Stable/Emergent 48
2.4. Contrastive/Analogical or Similar 49
2.5. Diachronic/Synchronic 50
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viii Contents
2.6. Genetic/Typological 51
2.7. Impartial or Pure/Asymmetrical 52
3. Coda: On Pointed Comparisons 55
3 On Comparative Injustice 59
1. Introduction 59
2. Injustice, Comparatively 60
2.1. Comparative Injustice – Typologically Considered 60
2.2. Th e Will to Compare. On Comparative Philosophy 63
2.3. Peter Winch on Understanding an Alien Culture 66
Part II Th ree Studies in Comparativism 71
4 Orientation, Indexicality, and Comparisons: A Th eme from Kant 73
1. Introduction: A Philosophy of Orientation? 73
2. Orienting Oneself: A Kantian Th eme 75
3. Orientation’s Architecture. An Extended Analysis 78
3.1. Defi ning Orientation 78
3.2. Orientation in its Element 80
3.3. Orientation, Subjectivity, and Indexicality 82
3.4. Orientation as Twofold Comparison 84
3.5. On Being Already Oriented 87
4. Coda: Th e Perils and Treasures of Disorientation 89
5 Comparative/Descriptive: Wittgenstein and the Search for
‘Objects of Comparison’ 91
1. Introduction: Aft er Dogmatism 91
2. Th e Assets of Description 93
3. Language-Games as ‘Objects of Comparison’ 96
4. Comparing as a Mode of Description 100
4.1. ‘Objects of Comparison’: External and Internal Comparisons 102
4.2. Pure and Intentional Comparisons 103
4.3. Incompleteness: On the Dynamics of Comparing 104
5. Comparative/Descriptive: A Concluding Note 106
6 Comparative Ironism: Richard Rorty on Plural Vocabularies
and the Comparisons Between Th em 109
1. Introduction: Th eories or Examples? 109
2. Irony and the Plurality of our Vocabularies 111
2.1. A Farewell to Truth? 111
2.2. Irony and the Plurality of Descriptions 113
Contents ix
2.3. Between Vocabularies, or: Philosophy as Comparativism 115
3. Nearing the End: Irony, Comparatively 122
Part III On Relocating Incomparability 123
7 Against Structural Incomparability 125
1. Introduction: Incomparability as a Marginalized Classic 125
2. Choices and Comparisons 127
3. Incomparability: A First Sketch 129
4. A Traditional and a Less Traditional View: Raz and Broome 132
5. Ruth Chang on Being on a Par 135
6. On Explaining Structural Incomparability Away 139
6.1. Th ree Forms of Non-Comparability 140
6.2. Vagueness: Predicates and Comparatives 142
6.3. Multidimensionality 143
6.4. Choices, Comparisons and Beyond 144
8 On Indexical Incomparability 147
9 Th e Curious Case of Normative Incomparability:
Comparisons, Animals and the Quest for Adequacy 151
1. Introduction: ‘for all is vanity’ 151
2. Meeting Elizabeth Costello 154
3. A Delicate Comparison and its Aft ermath 158
3.1. Costello, Kafk a’s Red Peter, and the Holocaust 159
3.2. Th ree Objections 162
3.3. Costello’s (Un)Belief 165
4. On Extending our Sense of Possibilities 168
5. Finally: Th e Curious Case of Normative Incomparability 171
Epilogue: Living in an ‘Age of Comparison’? An Interpretation
with Diagnostic Intent 175
1. In the ‘Age of Comparison’ 175
2. On Nietzsche’s Assumption 176
3. Th e Dangers of Levelling Down 177
4. And Today: A ‘Society of Singularities’? 178
5. A Hybrid Ending: On the Future of Comparison(s)/Comparing 180
Bibliography 223
Index 241