Defining “good” and “bad” in terms of “better”

Abstract

Monadic predicates for “good” and “bad” are inserted into structures already containing the dyadic predicate “better”. A set of logical properties for “good” and “bad” is proposed, and a complete characterization is given of the pairs of monadic predicates that have these properties. It is argued that “good” and “bad” can indeed be defined in terms of “better”, and a definition is given that is more generally applicable than those previously proposed. © 1990 by the University of Notre Dame. All rights reserved.