Now Playing: COUNTERFACTUALS WEEK (CLOSING ENTRIES)
Topic: Counterfactuals
Counterfactuals in a Dynamic Context
By Kai von Fintel
This paper has presented a sketch of an alternative implementation of the standard possible worlds semantics of counterfactuals.The Presupposition of Subjunctive Conditionals
By Kai von Fintel
Why are some conditionals subjunctive? It is often assumed that at least one crucial difference is that subjunctive conditionals presuppose that their antecedent is false, that they are counterfactual (Lakoff 1970). The traditional theory has apparently been refuted. Perhaps the clearest counter-example is one given by Alan Anderson (1951: 37): If Jones had taken arsenic, he would have shown just exactly those symptoms which he does in fact show. A typical place to use such a subjunctive conditional would be in the course of an argument that tries to bolster the hypothesis that Jones did in fact take arsenic. But then it would of course be self-defeating to presuppose that the hypothesis is false. Thus, something else must be going on.
Posted by Tony Marmo
at 00:01 BST
Updated: Friday, 7 April 2006 01:45 BST
