An antecedent is the first half of a
hypothetical
A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...
proposition
In logic and linguistics, a proposition is the meaning of a declarative sentence. In philosophy, " meaning" is understood to be a non-linguistic entity which is shared by all sentences with the same meaning. Equivalently, a proposition is the no ...
, whenever the if-clause precedes the then-clause. In some contexts the antecedent is called the ''protasis''.
Examples:
* If
, then
.
This is a nonlogical formulation of a hypothetical proposition. In this case, the antecedent is P, and the
consequent is Q. In an
implication, if
implies
then
is called the antecedent and
is called the consequent.
[Sets, Functions and Logic - An Introduction to Abstract Mathematics, Keith Devlin, Chapman & Hall/CRC Mathematics, 3rd ed., 2004] Antecedent and
consequent are connected via
logical connective
In logic, a logical connective (also called a logical operator, sentential connective, or sentential operator) is a logical constant. They can be used to connect logical formulas. For instance in the syntax of propositional logic, the binary ...
to form a
proposition
In logic and linguistics, a proposition is the meaning of a declarative sentence. In philosophy, " meaning" is understood to be a non-linguistic entity which is shared by all sentences with the same meaning. Equivalently, a proposition is the no ...
.
* If
is a man, then
is mortal.
"
is a man" is the antecedent for this proposition.
* If men have walked on the moon, then I am the king of France.
Here, "men have walked on the moon" is the antecedent.
Let
. If
then
See also
*
Consequent
*
Affirming the consequent (fallacy)
*
Denying the antecedent (fallacy)
*
Necessity and sufficiency
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antecedent (Logic)
Conditionals