 Some might object that the continuity axiom, as well as the other axioms proposed by von Neumann and Morgenstern (and Ramsey and Savage), are essential for defining utility in a mathematically precise manner. It would therefore be meaningless to talk about utility if we reject the continuity axiom. This axiom is part of what it means to say that something has a higher utility than something else. A good response could be to develop a theory of utility in which preferences over lotteries are not used for defining the meaning of the concept; see Luce (1959) for an early example of such a theory. Another response could be to develop a theory of utility in which the continuity axiom is explicitly rejected; see Skala (1975).