A radical rejection of spectrum arguments

Spectrum arguments are purported to show that the betterness relation is not a transitive relation. This is a drastic conclusion since much normative theorizing and everyday reasoning assume that betterness is transitive. In order to avoid this conclusion, many reject a plausible view on trade-offs between quality and quantity. The rejection can take the form of a radical or a conservative rejection. The radical rejection seemingly deviates more from the underlying intuition of the view than the conservative rejection. In this paper, I will argue that it is, nevertheless, more plausible to opt for a radical rejection. This will be done by showing how appeals to non-conventional value relations, such as parity and incomparability, that are associated with conservative rejection, will not provide a satisfying response to spectrum arguments.

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Publication Details

Journal
Synthese
Published
2026-01-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-025-05417-5
Primary Topic
Philosophical Ethics and Theory
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

A radical rejection of spectrum arguments

Henrik Andersson
Synthese
Philosophical Ethics and Theory
article

A radical rejection of spectrum arguments

Henrik Andersson
article en

Abstract

Spectrum arguments are purported to show that the betterness relation is not a transitive relation. This is a drastic conclusion since much normative theorizing and everyday reasoning assume that betterness is transitive. In order to avoid this conclusion, many reject a plausible view on trade-offs between quality and quantity. The rejection can take the form of a radical or a conservative rejection. The radical rejection seemingly deviates more from the underlying intuition of the view than the conservative rejection. In this paper, I will argue that it is, nevertheless, more plausible to opt for a radical rejection. This will be done by showing how appeals to non-conventional value relations, such as parity and incomparability, that are associated with conservative rejection, will not provide a satisfying response to spectrum arguments.

SyntheseVol. 207(1)
Lund University (SE)
McGill University
Openalex Percentile: Top 95%
Philosophical Ethics and Theory
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