Annals of the Japan Association for Philosophy of Science
Online ISSN : 1884-1228
Print ISSN : 0453-0691
ISSN-L : 0453-0691
Bennett on Modus Ponens
Masaharu MIZUMOTO
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2009 Volume 18 Pages 11-28

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Abstract

Jonathan Bennett, in his (2003), says that for indicative conditionals the unrestricted form of modus ponens (MP) is not valid, but restricted MP is still valid. In this paper I argue that Bennett is wrong, that even the restricted form of MP fails for indicative conditionals. I will show this by constructing, from his own counterexample to other formal properties of indicatives, a counterexample which is immune to the types of criticism that Bennett launches against the famous counterexample to MP by Vann McGee. I will also show that this type of failure of MP can be confirmed visually by a new but natural reading of the Adams-style Venn diagram.

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© 2009 Annals of the Japan Association for Philosophy of Science
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