The function of decadence and ascendance in analytic philosophy

Abstract

In ordinary as well as in technical language, the expression “decadence�? is normally used as a topological metaphor. Due to its etymology (from Latin [de]cadere: falling, sinking), the term implies the picture of a space that is at least one-dimensional (vertical), including a fixed top and bottom, whereby “top�? normally stands for a desirable status or an ideal (positive connotation) and “bottom�? for the opposite (negative connotation).1 In terms of this picture, a “decadent�? can be defined as someone/something that falls or sinks top-down from this desirable status or ideal to the opposite. In turn, a vertical space with a fixed top and bottom reveals not only a top-down movement that can be defined as “decadence�? but also a bottom-up movement for which metaphors such as “ascendance,�? “rise,�? or “jump up�? can be used.2.