In either case, you assume rather than establish that higher status corresponds to the more successful outcome.
How do you know if “status” is a real thing if you can’t measure it directly but only infer it from successful outcomes?
Status is not just defined and determined by good outcomes; the drink example is one small piece of a larger puzzle.
How do you know if “status” is a real thing if you can’t measure it directly but only infer it from successful outcomes?
You could consider status to be rather like the magnetic field—it is a mathematical moving part of the theory, and has explanatory power only to the extent that the theory predicts objectively measurable events. Is the magnetic field real? Who cares—what matters is whether your radio works.
Status is not just defined and determined by good outcomes; the drink example is one small piece of a larger puzzle.
You could consider status to be rather like the magnetic field—it is a mathematical moving part of the theory, and has explanatory power only to the extent that the theory predicts objectively measurable events. Is the magnetic field real? Who cares—what matters is whether your radio works.