On trust as a commodity and on the grammar of trust

Abstract

I look at `trust' in the light of two constructions taken from economic science: general competitive analysis and the theory of games. I draw on Baier's anti-contractarian perspective, as well as on one informed by Wittgenstein's writings. The former focuses on relations between inherently unequal and asymmetrical individuals, while the latter draws on and revolves around the imperative in the Philosophical Investigations: “Let the use teach you the meaning” [p. 212; also p. 220]. I try to spell out how the choice of language has epistemological implications: for an analysis of trust, for the trustworthiness of the scientific constructions I use for analyzing trust, and thereby, more generally, for defining `ourselves' and our `form of life.'