When is a conclusion worth deriving? A relevance-based analysis of indeterminate relational problems
Thinking and Reasoning 8 (1):1 – 20 (2002)
| Abstract | When is a conclusion worth deriving? We claim that a conclusion is worth deriving to the extent that it is relevant in the sense of relevance theory (Sperber & Wilson, 1995). To support this hypothesis, we experiment with ''indeterminate relational problems'' where we ask participants what, if anything, follows from premises such as A is taller than B, A is taller than C . With such problems, the indeterminate response that nothing follows is common, and we explain why. We distinguish several types of determinate conclusions and show that their rate is a function of their relevance. We argue that by appropriately changing the formulation of the premises, the relevance of determinate conclusions can be increased, and the rate of indeterminate responses thereby reduced. We contrast these relevance-based predictions with predictions based on linguistic congruence. | |||||||||
| Keywords | reasoning, psychology, deduction, relevance theory | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,653 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesBert Leuridan (2012). Three Problems for the Mutual Manipulability Account of Constitutive Relevance in Mechanisms. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 63 (2):399-427.
Edwin David Mares (2004). Relevant Logic: A Philosophical Interpretation. Cambridge Univeristy Press.
Mark Jago (2012). The Content of Deduction. Journal of Philosophical Logic 42:317-334.
Jean–Baptiste van der Henst, Laure Carles & Dan Sperber (2002). Truthfulness and Relevance in Telling the Time. Mind and Language 17 (5):457–466.
Raymond W. Gibbs Jr & Markus Tendahl (2006). Cognitive Effort and Effects in Metaphor Comprehension: Relevance Theory and Psycholinguistics. Mind and Language 21 (3):379–403.
Jean-Baptiste Henst (2006). Symposium on “Cognition and Rationality: Part I” Relevance Effects in Reasoning. Mind and Society 5 (2):229-245.
Jean-Baptiste Van der Henst (2002). Mental Model Theory Versus the Inference Rule Approach in Relational Reasoning. Thinking and Reasoning 8 (3):193 – 203.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads5 ( #160,204 of 548,984 )Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
