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Anastasis

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by Anastasis

  1. 21 minutes ago, Aphelion said:

    You have no idea what you are talking about.  Conditional statements are claims on what is implied (their consequent, B in the example) from their antecedent (A in the example).  They make no claims on one's knowledge of the veracity of the antecedent.  I can say "if the number 7 is prime, then it has no whole number factors other than 1 and itself."  This is a perfectly true statement regardless of whether I know 7 is prime or not.  This statement in no way implies that I do not know whether 7 is prime or not, nor does it imply that I am challenging the truth of 7 being prime.  These types of statements are used in arguments all the time even when one knows that the antecedent is true.  Absolutely no one who has any idea what they are talking about would object to a conditional statement used in this manner on the basis that the speaker already knows that the antecedent is true.      

    To use your example, if you were to say "If you are replying to me on Surly, then my user name is Brisketexan," then this would not be lying (as you incorrectly stated is would be) because it is a true statement.   Here is how to determine if a conditional statement is true or false:

    Image result for conditional truth tables

    A conditional statement is true when the antecedent and consequent are both true.  The statement I said to you had a true antecedent and a true consequent, therefore it is a true statement.  Therefore it is not a lie to state it.  Notice that there is no consideration on the truth table for whether or not the speaker knows whether the antecedent is true.  That is an absurd additional requirement that you just made up.  Find a single source that states otherwise.  You won't.  

    Now that I have explained to you how conditional statements work, be honest and admit you falsely accused me of lying.  

    Traitor. 

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