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Generics, Frequency Adverbs, and Probability

Generics, Frequency Adverbs, and Probability

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This requirement follows naturally from the homogeneity constraint; the reference<br />

class must be homogeneous with respect to the property of being a<br />

rhino, given the space partition. Therefore, for (43) to be true, rhinos must<br />

be distributed more or less evenly across Africa.<br />

Note that while Krifka<br />

et al. claim that (43) would be false in a situation where all rhinos are concentrated<br />

in one spot, it seems to me that in this case the sentence would<br />

be bad, rather than simply false. The appropriate response to (43) seems to<br />

be something like But they are all in the same place!, rather than a simple<br />

denial of its truth. This is explained by the fact that the homogeneity of the<br />

reference class of the probability judgment is a presupposition, rather than<br />

an entailment.<br />

4 Summary<br />

The goal of this paper has been to provide a unified account for a variety of<br />

puzzling properties of generics <strong>and</strong> frequency statements. I have argued that<br />

these constructions express probability judgments, interpreted as expressions<br />

of hypothetical relative frequency, <strong>and</strong> claimed that this move provides explanations<br />

for eight puzzling phenomena:<br />

1. <strong>Generics</strong> <strong>and</strong> frequency statements may be true even in the absence<br />

of supporting instances, because they are evaluated with respect to<br />

possible future histories, where relevant instances do occur.<br />

2. The truth value of a generic or a frequency statement would remain<br />

50

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