A theory of conditional assertion

Journal article


Goldstein, Simon. (2019). A theory of conditional assertion. Journal of Philosophy. 116(6), pp. 293-318. https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil2019116620
AuthorsGoldstein, Simon
Abstract

According to one tradition, uttering an indicative conditional involves performing a special sort of speech act: a conditional assertion. We introduce a formal framework that models this speech act. Using this framework, we show that any theory of conditional assertion validates several inferences in the logic of conditionals, including the False Antecedent inference (that not A implies if A, then C). Next, we determine the space of truth-conditional semantics for conditionals consistent with conditional assertion. The truth value of any such conditional is settled whenever the antecedent is false, and whenever the antecedent is true and the consequent is false. Then, we consider the space of dynamic meanings consistent with the theory of conditional assertion. We develop a new family of dynamic conditional-assertion operators that combine a traditional test operator with an update operation.

Year2019
JournalJournal of Philosophy
Journal citation116 (6), pp. 293-318
PublisherPhilosophy Documentation Center
ISSN0022-362X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil2019116620
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85076479452
Publisher's version
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Controlled
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