Single Idea 6883

[catalogued under 10. Modality / B. Possibility / 9. Counterfactuals]

Full Idea

One view of counterfactuals (Chisholm, Goodman, Rescher) is that they are only true if there is a valid logical inference from p and some other propositions of certain kinds (controversial) to q.

Gist of Idea

Maybe counterfactuals are only true if they contain valid inference from premisses

Source

Thomas Mautner (Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy [1996], p.115)

Book Reference

Mautner,Thomas: 'Dictionary of Philosophy' [Penguin 1997], p.115


A Reaction

The aspiration that counterfactual claims should reduce to pure logic sounds a bit hopeful to me. Logic is precise, but assertions about how things would be is speculative and imaginative.