A note on Mcgee’s counterexample to Modus Ponens

In this article I will review McGee's famous counterexample to Modus Ponens and I will argue that it is not a real counterexample. I will claim that the problem lies in an infelicitous assertion of the second premise. As result of this diagnosis, I will suggest that when dealing with indicative...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Rubin, Mariela
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2024
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Repository:Principia (Florianópolis. Online)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:periodicos.ufsc.br:article/96728
Online Access:https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/article/view/96728
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Modus Ponens
Counterexample
Indicative Conditionals
Conditionals
Existential quantification
Description
Summary:In this article I will review McGee's famous counterexample to Modus Ponens and I will argue that it is not a real counterexample. I will claim that the problem lies in an infelicitous assertion of the second premise. As result of this diagnosis, I will suggest that when dealing with indicative conditionals a pragmatic theory is needed.