On Conditionals
Conditionals are complex expressions of the form ‘If
A, then
C’ (formally, ‘
A>
C’). We often use them to indicate a connection between two states of affairs, expressed by the antecedent
A (or if-clause) and a consequent
C (or then-clause). By asserting statements like these, one usually suggests a relationship between two states, such that one affects the other. In other words, the second somehow obtains under the condition of the first. While the syntactical structure of conditionals may seem quite simple, their semantic and pragmatic consequences are hard to overestimate. The present issue of
Studia Semiotyczne addresses some of the key questions concerning such expressions. We are happy to present a collection of papers that reflect the complexity of the subject of conditionals.
