Conditional claims are something that we hear a lot in our day to day lives. People expect or assume certain things, and that is why they are so common. However, a lot of the time a conditional claim can be inaccurate and easily contradicted. For instance, if I would tell someone that I am only going to class if it is not raining because I don’t want to get my hair wet, they could easily use the contradictory that it is raining BUT I could use an umbrella and go to class without getting my hair wet. Some contradictories are more simple to figure out than others. For instance, “If you snap your laptop in half, then it won’t work anymore” is a lot harder to contradict than something like “If you drink a glass of water, then you will not be thirst anymore.” There are always loopholes to figuring out some sort of opposing situation though.
I agree with your post on conditional claims and their contradictories. I hear my friends and family use conditional claims all the time. Not to mention, I use them quite a bit myself. I think people revert to using conditional claims as excuses also. I know my brother uses them in that fashion. For example, my mom would ask him to do chores and he would tell her something like, “I’ll do my chores today if my friends don’t want to hang out.” However, my mom still expects them done the next day. But, this will get him off the hook at least once during the week even though it’s a bad conditional claim for an excuse.
ReplyDeleteYou provided great examples on conditional claims and their contradictories. I use a lot of conditional claims that can be used as excuses! I would say to my friends, "I'll hang out with you tonight if my mother doesn't ask me about my grades", or "I'll bring my books back to the library if I finish my homework." People use conditional claims all the time which is why it is common. However, they may use conditional claims to a possibility where it can be incorrect. This is why it can be easily contradicted by others. I agree with your laptop example that it is hard to contradict. There are some claims that are hard to contradict than others.
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