In contradistinction to disjunctives, hypothetical propositions and hypothetical syllogisms are frequently referred to as “conjunctive.”
3. THE ANTECEDENT AND CONSEQUENT.
Facility in detecting the antecedent and consequent of hypotheticals is required in order to deal intelligently with the argument. The hypothetical proposition has been defined as one in which the assertion is limited by a condition. The consequent is the assertion and usually follows (though not always) the antecedent which is the limiting condition. First the antecedent and then the consequent is the logical order as the derivative meaning of the words antecedent and consequent would indicate. The antecedent is introduced by such words as “if,” “though,” “unless,” “suppose,” “granted that,” “when,” etc.
ILLUSTRATIONS:
| Antecedent. | Consequent. |
| 1. If you study, | you will pass. |
| 2. If it rains, | it is cloudy. |
| 3. If two is added to three, | the result is five. |
| 4. If you are temperate, | you will live to a ripe old age. |
| Consequent. | Antecedent. |
| 5. I will go, | unless you wire me to the contrary. |
| 6. I will pay you, | when you present your bill. |
| 7. I shall make the trip in ten hours, | granted that I have no accidents. |
| 8. My overcoat would not have been stolen, | if the door had been locked. |
4. TWO KINDS OF HYPOTHETICAL ARGUMENTS.
The two kinds of hypothetical syllogisms are the constructive and destructive.
A constructive hypothetical syllogism is one in which the minor premise affirms the antecedent.
A destructive hypothetical syllogism is one in which the minor premise denies the consequent.
The constructive hypothetical is sometimes referred to as the “modus ponens”; whereas the destructive hypothetical is called the “modus tollens.”