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An explanation of <i>or</i> -deletions and other paradoxical disjunctive inferences

  • Journal of Cognitive Psychology
  • Taylor & Francis
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Abstract

Some inferences of the sort: A or B; therefore A, which are invalid in standard logics, are sensible in life: You can enter now or later; therefore, you can enter now. That these "or-deletions" follow necessarily or only possibly is a by-product of a theory of mental models. Its semantics for "or" refers to conjunctions of possibilities holding in default of knowledge to the contrary. It predicts new sorts of or-deletion, such as: He likes to drink red wine or white wine. So, he likes to drink red wine. and: You are permitted to do only one of the following: You can enter now. You can enter later. Therefore, you are permitted to enter now. They are invalid in standard logics, and neither previous pragmatic nor semantic theories predicted them. Four experiments corroborated their occurrence.

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Publication details

DOI
10.1080/20445911.2022.2091576
OpenAlex
W4284884868
Document type
article
Language
EN
Source
Journal of Cognitive Psychology
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