Resolving apparent contradictions: adults' and preschoolers' ability to cope with non-classical negation

Abstract

ABSTRACTIf the logic of natural language negation were classical – a simple matter of true and false – then it would be a disaster to answer a question likeIs this essay good?withYes and no. The overwhelming majority of adults (N= 40) asked to resolve this apparent contradiction were found to do so by appealing to the structure of the essay (e.g.Its thesis was good but its argument was not). Three-year-olds (N= 24), when suitably prepared, also appealed to object structure to resolve a similar apparent contradiction. These results are discussed in relation to a non-classical logical model that can handle object structure.