Gerald Bivens

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'sufficient condition'=df

A sufficient condition is a condition that guarantees that a statement is true (or that a phenomenon will occur). For instance, Fido's being a dog guarantees that he is an animal. By contrast, Fido's being an animal does not guarantee that he is a dog, for he might be some other kind of animal. The antecedent (if-clause) of a true conditional statement provides a sufficient condition for the truth for the consequent (then-clause).1

A sufficient condition for some state of affairs S is a condition that, if satisfied, guarantees that S obtains.


For example, a sufficient condition for getting an A in 341 is getting an A on every piece of graded work in the course. This means that if a student gets an A on every piece of graded work in the course, then the student gets an A.


Handing in a term paper is not a sufficient condition for getting an A in the course. It is possible to hand in a term paper and not to get an A in the course.2

Notes

  1. Frances Howard-Snyder, The Power of Logic (City of publication: Publisher, Year published), Page range.
  2. "Necessary vs. Sufficient Conditions," accessed August 10, 2015, http://philosophy.wisc.edu/hausman/341/Skill/nec-suf.htm.