title: Counterfactual Truths: The Logical Structure of Argumentative Thought Experiments
creator: Álvarez-Vázquez, Javier Y.
subject: ddc-000
subject: 000 Generalities, Science
subject: ddc-100
subject: 100 Philosophy
subject: ddc-150
subject: 150 Psychology
subject: ddc-400
subject: 400 Linguistics
subject: ddc-500
subject: 500 Natural sciences and mathematics
description: Argumentative thought experiments are structurally conditional clauses. They can hence be formalized by means of the principle of modus ponendo ponens, as well as of modus tollendo tollens. In contrast to the practice in formal logic, exponents of argumentative thought experiments claim that the logical validity of a conclusion drawn within the framework of a particular conditional argument also holds beyond the particular conditional in question. In this paper, I articulate the criticism that this claim is wrong by arguing that the counterfactual scenario sets itself the most determinant premise. If the counterfactual scenario sets the initial conditional premise of the argument, then its true conclusion holds only as a counterfactual truth. The present paper illustrates this criticism using Frank Jackson’s thought experiment, the so-called knowledge argument, as a concrete example.
publisher: Novelty Journals
date: 2015-04
type: Article
type: info:eu-repo/semantics/article
type: NonPeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
identifier: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserverhttps://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/18617/1/%C3%81lvarez-V%C3%A1zquez%282015%29CounterfactualTruths.pdf
identifier: PURL:
identifier: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-186171
identifier:   Álvarez-Vázquez, Javier Y.  (2015) Counterfactual Truths: The Logical Structure of Argumentative Thought Experiments.  International Journal of Novel Research in Humanity and Social Sciences, 2 (2).  pp. 1-3.  ISSN 2394-9694     
relation: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/18617/
rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/help/license_urhg.html
language: eng