Four probability-preserving properties of inferences (Q1914369)

The focus of this paper is probabilistic logics of conditionals, where the probability of a conditional is construed as a conditional probability. The four properties are: 1. Certainty-preservation: if all the premisses of an inference are certain the conclusion must be certain; 2. High probability-preservation: if all of the premisses are highly probable, the conclusion must be highly probable; 3. Positive probability-preservation: if all of the premisses have positive probability, the conclusion must have positive probability; and 4. Minimum probability-preservation: the probability of the conclusion must be at least as high as the minimum of the probabilities of its premisses. The modal conditional \(\Rightarrow\), like the conditional in other of Adams' writings, is constrained to have no more than one occurrence, as the main connective, in a well-formed formula. It is construed trivalently. The different conditions that are required to ensure each of these preservation properties are discussed, and tables from which these properties can be read off are provided.