Single Idea 8204

[catalogued under 5. Theory of Logic / B. Logical Consequence / 7. Strict Implication]

Full Idea

Russell call 'if...then' implication, when the material conditional is a much better account; C.I.Lewis (in founding modern modal logic) preserved Russell's confusion by creating 'strict implication', and called that implication.

Gist of Idea

Lewis's 'strict implication' preserved Russell's confusion of 'if...then' with implication

Source

comment on B Russell/AN Whitehead (Principia Mathematica [1913]) by Willard Quine - Reply to Professor Marcus p.177

Book Reference

Quine,Willard: 'Ways of Paradox and other essays' [Harvard 1976], p.177


A Reaction

[A compession of Quine's paragraph]. All of this assumes that logicians can give an accurate account of what if...then means, when ordinary usage is broad and vague. Strict implication seems to drain all the normal meaning out of 'if...then'.