It has long been noticed that focus is able to influence the truth-conditions of coun-terfactual conditionals.Namely,stressing different parts of a counterfactual leads to distinct interpretations.However,existing the...It has long been noticed that focus is able to influence the truth-conditions of coun-terfactual conditionals.Namely,stressing different parts of a counterfactual leads to distinct interpretations.However,existing theories,such as those by von Finte1 and Rooth,fail to ad-equately account for this phenomenon.In this paper,I exposit the drawbacks of these theories and then propose a novel account,ie.the Good Question-Answer(GQA)view.The GQA account posits that focus triggers question-answer pairs,and pragmatic pressures conceming the adequacy of such question answer pairs in contexts are able to affect the truth-conditions of counterfactuals.I also argue for the GQA account by appeal to its theoretical virtues.展开更多
基金supported by the Major Program of National Social Science Foundation of China(No.23&ZD240)。
文摘It has long been noticed that focus is able to influence the truth-conditions of coun-terfactual conditionals.Namely,stressing different parts of a counterfactual leads to distinct interpretations.However,existing theories,such as those by von Finte1 and Rooth,fail to ad-equately account for this phenomenon.In this paper,I exposit the drawbacks of these theories and then propose a novel account,ie.the Good Question-Answer(GQA)view.The GQA account posits that focus triggers question-answer pairs,and pragmatic pressures conceming the adequacy of such question answer pairs in contexts are able to affect the truth-conditions of counterfactuals.I also argue for the GQA account by appeal to its theoretical virtues.
