Comparatives without Degrees: a New Approach

It has become common to analyse comparatives by using degrees, so that John is happier than Mary would in fact involve a comparison between the degree(s) to which John is happy and the degree(s) to which Mary is happy. I will argue that such analyses face serious conceptual and empirical problems. I will pursue an alternative analysis on which comparatives involve a comparison between particularized properties or tropes, the kinds of things nominalizations like John’s happiness refer to.