MoL-2023-01: Neglect-Zero Effects on Indicative Conditionals: Extending BSML and BiUS with an implication

MoL-2023-01: Flachs, Bo Lazlo (2023) Neglect-Zero Effects on Indicative Conditionals: Extending BSML and BiUS with an implication. [Report]

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Abstract

This thesis researches the effect of the pragmatic “neglect-zero” tendency on indicative conditionals. Aloni (2022a) formalised this pragmatic tendency in bilateral state-based modal logic (BSML) to account for several free choice phenomena. However, this framework lacks an implication, and extending it with a suitable implication is a non-trivial task. To find the most suitable extension, we compare several possibilities on linguistic desiderata by Stalnaker (1976) and Ciardelli (2020), whereby we find that an existential variant of the maximal implication is our best option. Unfortunately, this implication still has some unsatisfactory linguistic and mathematical properties. This gives us the motivation to extend a dynamic variant of BSML, as introduced by Aloni (2022b) and called BiUS, with an implication. We find that this dynamic framework solves most problems of the static framework by giving us linguistically and mathematically satisfying results. Throughout these considerations we see that the “neglect-zero” tendency can give a simple pragmatic explanation for several linguistic phenomena. Thereby we conclude that this tendency, as formalised by BSML and BiUS, is likely to be one of the pragmatic tendencies active in natural language concerning indicative conditionals.

Item Type:	Report
Report Nr:	MoL-2023-01
Series Name:	Master of Logic Thesis (MoL) Series
Year:	2023
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Neglect-Zero, Indicative Conditionals, Implication, BSML, BiUS
Subjects:	Language Logic
Depositing User:	Dr Marco Vervoort
Date Deposited:	16 Feb 2023 15:40
Last Modified:	16 Feb 2023 15:40
URI:	https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/2235

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