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Definition:
A statement is called biconditional when it expresses the idea that the presence of
some property is a necessary and sufficient condition for the presence of some other
property. Such a statement is usually phrased in the terms "P, if and only if Q." The
phrase "if and only if" is often abbreviated as iff. Thus:
He will be president if and only if he wins the presidential election.
...is a biconditional statement. It is unusual that people use statements with such precision in ordinary language, but they are vital in philosophy. The label biconditional arises from the fact that the statement "p iff q" is really an abbreviated way of saying two conditional statements: "if p then q" and "if q then p." Thus, the above biconditional really means:
If he wins the election, he will be president, and if he is president, he has won the election.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is the Logic and the Philosophy of Language?
The two fields Logic and the Philosophy of Language are often treated separately, but they are nevertheless close enough that they are presented together here. Logic is the study of methods of reasoning and argumentation, both proper and improper. The Philosophy of Language, on the other hand, involves the study of how our language interacts with our thinking.What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
