counterfactual
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adjective
counterfactual
[edit] Translations
contrary to the facts
|
[edit] Noun
counterfactual (plural counterfactuals)
- A claim, hypothesis, or other belief that is contrary to the facts.
- (philosophy) A conditional statement in which the conditional clause is false, as "If I had arrived on time . . .".[1][2]
- 1952, B. J. Diggs, "VI.—Counterfactual Conditionals," Mind, vol. 61, no. 244, p. 513:
- In recent years there has been increasing discussion of the "problem of counterfactuals". One way of formulating this problem is as follows: "What is meant when one asserts a conditional statement, the antecedent of which is contrary to fact?"
- 1952, B. J. Diggs, "VI.—Counterfactual Conditionals," Mind, vol. 61, no. 244, p. 513:
[edit] References
- ^ "counterfactual" in A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names © 1997-2002 Garth Kemerling.
- ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.
