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Resource type: Web Encyclopedia Article Peer reviewed ID no. (ISBN etc.): 1095-5054 BibTeX citation key: Brennan2003 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details |
Categories: General Keywords: Ambiguity Creators: Brennan, Zalta Collection: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |
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Abstract |
"A handy tool in the search for precise definitions is the specification of necessary and/or sufficient conditions for the application of a term, the use of a concept, or the occurrence of some phenomenon or event. For example, without water and oxygen, there would be no human life; hence these things are necessary conditions for the existence of human beings. Cockneys, according to the traditional definition, are all and only those born within the sound of the Bow Bells. Hence birth within the specified area is both a necessary and a sufficient condition for being a Cockney.
Like other fundamental concepts, the concepts of necessary and sufficient conditions cannot be readily specified in other terms. This article shows how elusive the quest is for a definition of the terms “necessary” and “sufficient”, indicating the existence of systematic ambiguity in the concepts of necessary and sufficient conditions. It also shows the connection between puzzles over this issue and troublesome issues surrounding the word “if” and its use in conditional sentences." Added by: Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard Last edited by: Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard |