Conditionals and Modality
Magdalena Kaufmann, Stefan Kaufmann · 2015
Modal expressions are generally considered sentential operators that relate the proposition expressed by their argument (the prejacent) to a body of information specifiying some set of background assumptions. The majority of formal semantic work on modal expressions is couched in possible worlds semantics and builds on insights from modal logic. This chapter introduces the relevant logical tools and their applications in the study of natural language expressions. It then discusses different proposals of modal analyses of conditional sentences. The chapter further talks about some specific implications for aspects of the analysis of conditional clauses, as well as references to current issues in modality. Prioritizing modality as occurring in the process of practical deliberation has been shown to interact with the knowledge of the relevant agents in a way that cannot be captured straightforwardly by the standard framework of Kratzerian graded modality.