What is the fallacy of approximation?

• Main Authors: HAMMERTON, Matthew, PATRA, Sovan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: fallacy of approximation; problem of second best; ranking; value theory; philosophy of economics; reasoning; ideal theory; Economic Theory; Philosophy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3671; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4929/viewcontent/FallacyofApproximation_av.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Many philosophers appeal to the “fallacy of approximation”, or “problem of second best”. However, despite the pervasiveness of such appeals, there has been only a single attempt to provide a systematic account of what the fallacy is. We identify the shortcomings of this account and propose a better one in its place. Our account not only captures all the contexts in which approximation-based reasoning occurs but also systematically explains the several different ways in which it can be in error.