counterfactuals

The truth about these counterfactuals is that you can never really know what might have been if history had unfolded differently.

What if Obama and Dems hadn't passed health reform? Greg Sargent 2010

But the problem with counterfactuals is that there is a reason why they are not reality.

The Attack Ads John McCain Never Ran - Swampland - TIME.com 2008

This is a non-mathematical discussion of the idea of counterfactuals and experimentally or observationally determining causal effects from counterfactuals.

The Volokh Conspiracy » Wessel on Frank on Economists: 2009

The objects of Middle Knowledge are so-called counterfactuals of freedom:

Foreknowledge and Free Will Zagzebski, Linda 2008

A lot of the discussion we've been having regards counterfactuals, which is plenty entertaining but somewhat limiting.

Lawyers, Guns and Money 2008

However, to the extent that one wants to maintain both some sort of possible worlds semantics for counterfactuals which is based on similarity relations between worlds (and most philosophers agree with this sort of account), and one wants to maintain that not all counterpossibles are trivially true, one might think something like Vander Laan's proposal has to be correct.

God and Other Necessary Beings Davidson, Matthew 2005

Every “expert” has a pet theory and doesn’t entertain counterfactuals.

Matthew Yglesias » Obama > Congressional Democrats > Congressional GOP 2010

An indeterminate universe can be thought of as one exploring the space of possible forms of existence, a space which was expanded by the appearance of living things (as Kauffman argues), and further expanded by the evolution of the brain, with its ability to conceive things other than what exists at any given time ( "counterfactuals").

Serendip's Exchange 2010

Past is our only reliable guide to the Present and to the multiple futures that lie before us, only one of which will actually happen .. "--- which sounds trite and obvious, and yet the question of" counterfactuals "and" what if? "has apparently been deeply controversial in mainstream history]

Word Magazine - Comments Archie Valparaiso 2010

One can even posit some even worse counterfactuals, like a potential war with Iran that might have taken place in a Republican led 110th congress. alkali says:

Matthew Yglesias » Halter’s Long Odds 2010