A consequent is the second half of a hypothetical
proposition
In logic and linguistics, a proposition is the meaning of a declarative sentence. In philosophy, " meaning" is understood to be a non-linguistic entity which is shared by all sentences with the same meaning. Equivalently, a proposition is the no ...
. In the standard form of such a proposition, it is the part that follows "then". In an
implication, if ''P'' implies ''Q'', then ''P'' is called the
antecedent and ''Q'' is called the consequent. In some contexts, the consequent is called the ''apodosis''.
[See Conditional sentence.]
Examples:
* If
, then
.
is the consequent of this hypothetical proposition.
* If
is a mammal, then
is an animal.
Here, "
is an animal" is the consequent.
* If computers can think, then they are alive.
"They are alive" is the consequent.
The consequent in a hypothetical proposition is not necessarily a consequence of the antecedent.
* If monkeys are purple, then fish speak Klingon.
"Fish speak Klingon" is the consequent here, but intuitively is not a consequence of (nor does it have anything to do with) the claim made in the antecedent that "monkeys are purple.
See also
*
Antecedent (logic)
An antecedent is the first half of a hypothetical proposition, whenever the if-clause precedes the then-clause. In some contexts the antecedent is called the ''protasis''.
Examples:
* If P, then Q.
This is a nonlogical formulation of a hypotheti ...
*
Conjecture
In mathematics, a conjecture is a conclusion or a proposition that is proffered on a tentative basis without proof. Some conjectures, such as the Riemann hypothesis (still a conjecture) or Fermat's Last Theorem (a conjecture until proven in ...
*
Necessity and sufficiency
References
Conditionals
Logical_consequence
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