Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Denying Antecedents and Affirming Consequents: The State of the Art

Godden, David and Zenker, Frank LU orcid (2015) In Informal Logic 35(1). p.88-134
Abstract
Recent work on conditional reasoning argues that denying the antecedent [DA] and affirming the consequent [AC] are defeasible but cogent patterns of argument, either because they are effective, rational, albeit heuristic applications of Bayesian probability, or because they are licensed by the principle of total evidence. Against this, we show that on any prevailing interpretation of indicative conditionals the premises of DA and AC arguments do not license their conclusions without additional assumptions. The cogency of DA and AC inferences rather depends on contingent factors extrinsic to, and independent of, what is asserted by DA and AC arguments.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
affirming the consequent, Bayesian probability, conditional perfection, denying the antecedent, fallacy, heuristics, total evidence
in
Informal Logic
volume
35
issue
1
pages
88 - 134
publisher
Informal Logic, University of Windsor, ON, Canada
external identifiers
  • wos:000351540600006
  • scopus:84964372224
ISSN
0824-2577
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5eab0ec9-546b-4399-8129-5c043a272ee0 (old id 5281631)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:48:49
date last changed
2022-04-28 21:01:15
@article{5eab0ec9-546b-4399-8129-5c043a272ee0,
  abstract     = {{Recent work on conditional reasoning argues that denying the antecedent [DA] and affirming the consequent [AC] are defeasible but cogent patterns of argument, either because they are effective, rational, albeit heuristic applications of Bayesian probability, or because they are licensed by the principle of total evidence. Against this, we show that on any prevailing interpretation of indicative conditionals the premises of DA and AC arguments do not license their conclusions without additional assumptions. The cogency of DA and AC inferences rather depends on contingent factors extrinsic to, and independent of, what is asserted by DA and AC arguments.}},
  author       = {{Godden, David and Zenker, Frank}},
  issn         = {{0824-2577}},
  keywords     = {{affirming the consequent; Bayesian probability; conditional perfection; denying the antecedent; fallacy; heuristics; total evidence}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{88--134}},
  publisher    = {{Informal Logic, University of Windsor, ON, Canada}},
  series       = {{Informal Logic}},
  title        = {{Denying Antecedents and Affirming Consequents: The State of the Art}},
  volume       = {{35}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}