Graduate WIP: Luke Elson – “Chang on Incommensurability as Vagueness”

ABSTRACT

I argue that incomparability could be vagueness.

Compare Mozart and Michaelangelo. Who is better artistically? We might say that Mozart is better, or that Michaelangelo is better, or that they are exactly equally good. But all three of these seem silly. Instead, we say that they are ‘incommensurable’ or ‘incomparable’.

A tempting thought is that incomparability is vagueness: that ‘artistic goodness’ is vague, and that this leads to incomparability. Ruth Chang has offered two influential arguments against this claim. I consider and reject those arguments.