Explanatory Conditionals

Conditionals and Pseudo-Conditionals in Mathematical Texts

Conditionals are the basic ingredient of a mathematical argument. We present an analysis of conditionals and pseudo-conditional in mathematical discourse, and then propose a computational framework for the (re-)construction and semantic representation of conditional dependencies.

Chinese Conditionals and the Theory of Conditionals*

As is well known, in conditionals and, more generally, in structures involving adverbs of quantification, indefinite NPs like a cat display a variable quantificational force. Within DRT this phenomenon is analyzed by assimilating indefinites to variables. Unlike other variable-like elements, however, indefinites cannot be anaphoric to some thing else. That is, one cannot say things like "a cat ...

Classifying Conditionals

Chimerical conditionals

This paper introduces and analyzes chimerical conditionals, a class of conditionals that are ambiguous between so called ‘biscuit’ and hypothetical conditional readings. First, an analysis of the biscuit / hypothetical distinction is developed which draws on the pragmatic account of Franke (2009) and pins the distinction on the presence of a special kind of pragmatic presupposition, where what ...

Causality and counterfactual conditionals

This paper deals with the truth conditions of conditional sentences. It focuses on a particular class of problematic examples for semantic theories for these sentences. I will argue that the examples show the need to refer to dynamic, in particular causal laws in an approach to their truth conditions. More particularly, I will claim that we need a causal notion of consequence. The proposal subs...