Determine whether the following are entailment, presupposition, or both.
1) (A) Mary murdered the platypus
(B) Mary killed something
Is the answer:
(a) entails (b)
OR (a) presupposes (b)
OR both
2) (A) John is taller than Mary
(B) Mary is shorter than John
Is the answer:
(a) entails (b)
OR (a) presupposes (b)
OR both
To determine whether the given statements are entailment, presupposition, or both, we need to understand the definitions of these terms.
Entailment: It refers to a relationship between two statements in which the truth of one statement guarantees the truth of another. If statement A entails statement B, it means that if A is true, then B must also be true.
Presupposition: It refers to a prior assumption or belief that is taken for granted or required in order for a statement to make sense or be true. If statement A presupposes statement B, it means that the truth of A relies on the truth of B.
Let's apply these concepts to the given statements:
1) (A) Mary murdered the platypus
(B) Mary killed something
To determine the relationship between these statements, we can analyze the entailment and presupposition individually.
Entailment:
If Mary murdered the platypus, it can be inferred that Mary killed something. Therefore, statement A entails statement B.
Presupposition:
For statement A to make sense or be true, the presupposition is that there was a platypus and it was killed. However, statement B does not require any specific presuppositions. Therefore, statement A presupposes something, but statement B does not.
In summary, the answer for the first question is:
(a) entails (b)
2) (A) John is taller than Mary
(B) Mary is shorter than John
Entailment:
If John is taller than Mary, it can be inferred that Mary is shorter than John. Therefore, statement A entails statement B.
Presupposition:
For both statements, no specific presuppositions are required. The statements themselves do not depend on any prior assumptions. Hence, neither A nor B presupposes anything.
In summary, the answer for the second question is:
(a) entails (b)
To conclude:
1) (A) entails (B)
2) (A) entails (B)
In both cases, there are entailments between the statements, but no presuppositions.