Single Idea 15719

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

Full Idea

The subjunctive conditional depends, like indirect quotation and more so, on a dramatic projection: we feign belief in the antececent and see how convincing we then find the consequent.

Gist of Idea

We feign belief in counterfactual antecedents, and assess how convincing the consequent is

Source

Willard Quine (Word and Object [1960], §46)

Book Reference

Quine,Willard: 'Word and Object' [MIT 1969], p.222


A Reaction

This seems accurate. It means that we are only interested in when the antecedent is true, and when it is false is irrelevant.