A Note on Conditionals and Restrictors

Within linguistic semantics, it is near orthodoxy that the function of the word ‘if’ (in most cases) is to mark restrictions on quantification. Despite its linguistic prominence, this view of the word ‘if’ has played little role in the philosophical discussion of conditionals. This paper tries to fill in this gap by systematically discussing the impact of the restrictor view on the competing philosophical views of conditionals. I argue that most philosophical views can and should be understood in a way that is compatible with the restrictor view, but that accepting the restrictor allows for new responses to some prominent arguments for non-truth-conditional account of conditionals.

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