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Specifically, I am looking at PT 68.S2.Q23, the second sentence: "We must therefore reject Tolstoy's rash claim that if we knew a lot about the events leading up to any action, we would cease to regard that action as freely performed").
So that would be diagrammed out as:
Not (know about events ---> ~freely performed)
Which I was told turns into:
(Know about events ---> freely performed)
My question is a theoretical one, and that is: WHY do you negate a conditional by introducing the sufficient and denying the necessary?
2 follow up questions:
1
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Thank you for your comments this thread helped me understand a separate problem with similar elements!
Thanks for the help! :D
All correct. Well done!
Thanks so much @tutordavidlevine115! To clarify, in the 3rd CC link you sent, JY said that to negate A--->B, you could say EITHER that:
A (--some--)~B OR A and ~B.
So in the case above, that would mean: Not (know about events--->~freely performed)
Translates to:
know about events (--some---) freely performed
OR
Know about events and freely performed
Is that correct? Thanks in advance.
So that would be diagrammed out as:
Not (know about events ---> ~freely performed)
Which I was told turns into:
(Know about events ---> freely performed)
This is incorrect. When you negate a conditional relationship, you create new intersectional relationship.
The logical equivalent of "Not (know about events ---> ~freely performed)" is
"know about events (-SOME -) freely performed" (Sometimes, we can know a lot about the events leading up to any action and regard that action as freely performed)
Now to answer your question 1: you can! Why? I ask you a question: What does it mean to say A is a sufficient condition of B? It's saying that the presence of A guarantees or triggers B. Another way of saying it is that if A exists, B must exist as well. By negating the conditional relationship we are essentially saying that sometimes when A happens B does not happen.
Pertininent Lessons.
https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/advanced-negate-some-statements
https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/advanced-negate-all-statements
https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/deny-the-relationship
https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/how-to-negate-statements-in-english