counterfactual
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Adjective [edit]
counterfactual
Translations [edit]
contrary to the facts
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Noun [edit]
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:
References [edit]
- ^ "counterfactual" in A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names © 1997-2002 Garth Kemerling.
- ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.
