Single Idea 18050

[catalogued under 19. Language / F. Communication / 5. Pragmatics / c. Presupposition]

Full Idea

In the traditional account, a sentence s presupposes p if and only if both s and Žs entail p. Standardly, this entails that if s presupposes p, then whenever p is false, s must be neither true nor false.

Gist of Idea

If both s and not-s entail a sentence p, then p is a presupposition

Source

Ofra Magidor (Category Mistakes [2013], 5.3.2)

Book Reference

Magidor,Ofra: 'Category Mistakes' [OUP 2013], p.124


A Reaction

'I'm looking down on the garden' presupposes 'I'm upstairs'. Why would 'I'm not looking down on the garden' entail 'I'm upstairs'? I seem to have missed something.