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about as well as anyone can here?

Forums: Esl, English Grammar, Learning English, Efl
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oristarA
 
Reply Sat 17 Jan, 2015 12:13 pm








Failed to get " about as well as anyone can here". The use of "about as well as" seems ungrammatical to me.
What do you think?

Context:

But what makes this difference?


Smith captures the tension between our reflexive selfishness and our broader moral intuitions about as well as anyone can here. The truth about us is plain to see: most of us are powerfully absorbed by selfish desires almost every moment of our lives; our attention to our own pains and pleasures could scarcely be more acute; only the most piercing cries of anonymous suffering capture our interest, and then fleetingly. And yet, when we consciously reflect on what we should do, an angel of beneficence and impartiality seems to spread its wings within us: we genuinely want fair and just societies; we want others to have their hopes realized; we want to leave the world better than we found it.
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Type: Question • Score: 0 • Views: 644 • Replies: 7

 
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contrex
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  2  
Reply Sat 17 Jan, 2015 01:05 pm
Quote:
Smith captures the tension between our reflexive selfishness and our broader moral intuitions about as well as anyone can here.


"About" is being used in the sense of roughly, approximately, more or less.

Smith captures [...] roughly as well as anyone can - this means Smith's analysis is as approximately as good as can be expected from anyone. "About" is ether intended to qualify the praise or is careless writing.

oristarA
 
  0  
Reply Sat 17 Jan, 2015 09:08 pm
@contrex,
contrex wrote:

Quote:
Smith captures the tension between our reflexive selfishness and our broader moral intuitions about as well as anyone can here.


"About" is being used in the sense of roughly, approximately, more or less.

Smith captures [...] roughly as well as anyone can - this means Smith's analysis is as approximately as good as can be expected from anyone. "About" is ether intended to qualify the praise or is careless writing.



If anyone can, Smith or Smith's point of view would be as common as dirt. Is it what the author wants to tell us?
contrex
 
  2  
Reply Sun 18 Jan, 2015 02:57 am
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:

If anyone can, Smith or Smith's point of view would be as common as dirt. Is it what the author wants to tell us?


No. "Smith analyses the subject as well as anyone can" means "nobody can analyse it better".
oristarA
 
  0  
Reply Sun 18 Jan, 2015 05:26 am
@contrex,
contrex wrote:

oristarA wrote:

If anyone can, Smith or Smith's point of view would be as common as dirt. Is it what the author wants to tell us?


No. "Smith analyses the subject as well as anyone can" means "nobody can analyse it better".



What? It beats me!
If you, McTag, I and even the grumpy Setanta can analyse the subject as well, by what qualification, then, can Mr Smith tout that his analysis is better?
contrex
 
  3  
Reply Sun 18 Jan, 2015 06:36 am
"Smith analyses the subject as well as anyone can" = "Smith analyses the subject as well as absolutely any imaginable person (i.e. including the greatest genius that ever lived), can"
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contrex
 
  2  
Reply Sun 18 Jan, 2015 07:13 am
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:
What? It beats me!
If you, McTag, I and even the grumpy Setanta can analyse the subject as well, by what qualification, then, can Mr Smith tout that his analysis is better?

You have it reversed. Understand that "any" means "without restriction". You are interpreting it as "Any imaginable person can analyse the subject as well as Smith", (Smith is mediocre). You should interpret it as "Smith can analyse the subject as well as any imaginable person." (Smith is very clever).

[first element] can [do something] as well as [second element]

The order is important. If the first element is "any person" then the second element (e.g. Smith) is only as good as the worst possible person.

If the first element is Smith and the second element is "any person" then Smith is as good as the best possible person.

I can run as fast as any person = I can run as fast as any person in the world (including the fastest). Meaning: I am a very fast runner.

Any person can run as fast as I = Any person in the world (including the slowest) can run run as fast as I. Meaning: I am a very slow runner.

oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Sun 18 Jan, 2015 07:32 am
@contrex,
Excellent!
0 Replies
 
 

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