Where would Waldo have been? Understanding counterfactual language understanding
Counterfactual thinking is central to the study of human cognition, but what do we know about counterfactual language and how people understand it? In this talk, I will dissect the anatomy of counterfactual statements from a linguistic point of view, and present two ongoing lines of research from my lab that shed light on the conditions under which counterfactual comprehension breaks down. Contrary to prominent theoretical claims, we show that pragmatic reasoning, for instance over causal event structure and over relevant alternatives, are paramount to successful counterfactual comprehension.
PLEASE NOTE: anyone not affiliated with CEU wishing to attend in person in Vienna must RSVP through the link below in order to get access to the lecture theatre:
https://forms.office.com/r/m44xrS3KqL
Join Zoom Meeting
https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/92971914417?pwd=c2V5Y2cxaVdiS1B0YlIzWll6cyswQT09
Meeting ID: 929 7191 4417
Passcode: 454730