Skip to main content

The Logic of Questions

  • Chapter
Handbook of Philosophical Logic

Part of the book series: Handbook of Philosophical Logic ((HALO,volume 8))

Abstract

Most theorists use ‘interrogative’ to refer to a type of sentence. Some theorists posit questions as distinct entities that may be asked, or put, or expressed by interrogatives, just as propositions may be expressed by declaratives and commands may be expressed by imperatives. Intuitively it seems that some questions may be expressed by sentences other than interrogatives, and some interrogatives can be used to do other things besides ask questions. Thus it is reasonable to say that there are two overlapping subject matters: the logic of interrogatives, and the logic of questions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Bibliography

  1. L. Ã…qvist. A New Approach to the Logical Theory of Interrogatives. Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  2. L. Ã…qvist. Scattered topics in interrogative logic. In J. Davis, D. J. Hockney, and W. K. Wilson, editors, Philosophical Logic, pages 114 - 121. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1969.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. L. Ã…qvist. Revised foundations for imperative epistemic and interrogative logic. Theoria, 37:33 - 73, 1971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. L. Åqvist. On the„Tell Me Truly“ approach to the analysis of interrogatives. In F. Kiefer, editor, Questions and Answers, pages 9 - 14. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. N. Belnap and T. Steel. The Logic of Questions and Answers. Yale, New Haven, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  6. N. Belnap. An analysis of questions: preliminary report. Technical Report 7 1287 1000/00, System Development Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, 1963.

    Google Scholar 

  7. N. Belnap. Åqvist’s corrections-accumulating question-sequences. In J. Davis, D. J. Hockney, and W. K. Wilson, editors, Philosophical Logic, pages 122 -134. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1969.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. N. Belnap. Questions and answers in Montague grammar. In S. Peters and E. Saarinen, editors, Processes, Beliefs, and Questions. Essays on Formal Semantics of Natural Language and Natural Language Processing, pages 165 - 198. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  9. N. Belnap. Approaches to the semantics of questions in natural language.In R. Bäuerle et al., editors, Meaning, Use, and Interpretation of Language, pages 21–29. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  10. V. Berkov. Nauchnaya problema (logiko-metodologicheskiy aspekt). Izdatel’stvo BGY im. V.I. Lenina, Minsk, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  11. R. Bogdan, editor. Jaakko Hintikka. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  12. D. Bolinger. Yes-no questions are not alternative questions. In H. Hiż, editor, Questions, pages 87 - 105. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1978.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  13. S. Bromberger. On What We Know We Don’t Know: Explanation, Theory, Linguistics, and How Questions Shape Them. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  14. L. Carlson. Dialogue Games. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  15. F. Cohen. What is a question? The Monist, 39:350 - 364, 1929.

    Google Scholar 

  16. M. Cresswell. On the logic of incomplete answers. The Journal of Symbolic Logic, 30:65 - 68, 1965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. R. Dacey. An interrogative account of the dialectical inquiring system based upon the economic theory of information. Synthese, 47:43 - 55, 1981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. J. Davis, D. J. Hockney, and W. K. Wilson, editors. Philosophical Logic. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1969.

    Google Scholar 

  19. H. Ficht. Supplement to a bibliography on the theory of questions and answers. Linguistiche Berichte, 55:92 - 114, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  20. V. Finn. K logiko-semioticheskoy teorii informatsionnogo poiska. In Informatsionnye voprosy semiotiki, lingvistiki i avtomaticheskogo perevoda, volume 5. Vsesoyuzyy Institut Nauchnoy i Tekhnicheskoy Informatsii, ANSSSR, Moscow, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  21. I. Gornstein. The logical analysis of questions: a historical survey. 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  22. G. Grewendorf. What answers can be given? In F. Kiefer, editor, Questions and Answers, pages 45 - 84. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  23. J. Groenendijk and M. Stokhof. Studies on the Semantics of Questions and the Pragmatics of Answers. Academisch Proefschrift, Amsterdam, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  24. C. Hamblin. Questions. The Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 36:159–168, 1958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. C. Hamblin. Questions. In P. Edwards, editor, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Macmillan, New York, 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  26. M. Hand, editor. Game theoretical semantics. Synthese, 99:311 -456, 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. M. Hand. Game-theoretical semantics, Montague semantics, and questions. Synthese, 74:207 - 222, 1988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. D. Harrah. A logic of questions and answers. Philosophy of Science, 28:40 - 46, 1961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. D. Harrah. Communication: A Logical Model. MIT, Cambridge, MA, 1963a.

    Google Scholar 

  30. D. Harrah. Review of Stahl [1962]. The Journal of Symbolic Logic, 28:259, 1963b.

    Google Scholar 

  31. D. Harrah. On completeness in the logic of questions. American Philosophical Quarterly, 6:158 - 164, 1969.

    Google Scholar 

  32. D. Harrah. A system for erotetic sentences. In A. Anderson et al., editors, The Logical Enterprise, pages 235 - 245. Yale, New Haven, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  33. D. Harrah. Critical study of Hintikka [1976]. Nous, 13:95 - 99, 1979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. D. Harrah. On speech acts and their logic. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 61:204 - 211, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  35. D. Harrah. The semantics of question sets. In D. Krallmann and G. Stickel, editors, Zur Theorie der Frage. Gunter Narr Verlag, Tubingen, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  36. D. Harrah. On the complexity of texts and text theory. Text, 1:83 - 95, 1981a.

    Google Scholar 

  37. D. Harrah. Guarding what we say. In T. Pauli, editor, Philosophical Essays dedicated to Lennart Ã…qvist, pages 119 - 131. University of Uppsala, Uppsala, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  38. D. Harrah. A logic of message and reply. Synthese, 63:275 - 294, 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. D. Harrah. Hintikka’s theory of questions. In R. Bogdan, editor, Jaakko Hintikka, pages 199 - 213. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1987.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  40. D. Harrah. On the vectoring of speech acts. In S. Tsohatzidis, editor, Foundations of Speech Act Theory: Philosophical and Linguistic Perspectives, pages 374 - 390. Routledge, London, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  41. S. Harris. GTS and interrogative tableaux. Synthese, 99:329 - 343, 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. J. Higginbotham. Interrogatives. In K. Hale and S. Keyser, editors, The View from Building 20: Essays in Linguistics in Honor of Sylvain Bromberger, pages 195 - 227. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  43. J. Hintikka and I. Halonen. Semantics and pragmatics for why-questions. The Journal of Philosophy, 92:636 - 657, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. J. Hintikka, editor. Knowledge-seeking by questioning. Synthese, 74:1 - 262, 1988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. J. Hintikka. The Semantics of Questions and the Questions of Semantics: Case Studies in the Interrelations of Logic, Semantics and Syntax. North Holland, Amsterdam, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  46. J. Hintikka. New foundations for a theory of questions and answers. In F. Kiefer, editor, Questions and Answers, pages 159 - 190. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  47. J. Hintikka. The interrogative model of inquiry as a general theory of argumentation. Communication and Cognition, 25:221 - 242, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  48. H. Hiż. Questions and answers. The Journal of Philosophy, 59:253 - 265, 1962.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. H. Hiż, editor. Questions. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  50. J. Hoepelman. On questions. In F. Kiefer, editor, Questions and Answers, pages 191 - 227. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  51. J. Kampé de Feriet and C. Picard, editors. Theories de l’Information (Lecture notes in Mathematics, Volume 398). Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  52. L. Karttunen. Syntax and semantics of questions. In H. Hiż, editor, Questions, pages 165 - 210. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  53. E. Keenan and R. Hull. The logical presuppositions of questions and answers. In J. Petöfi and D. Franck, editors, Präsuppositionen in Philosophie und Linguistik, pages 441 - 466. Athenäum, Frankfurt/M., 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  54. F. Kiefer, editor. Questions and Answers. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  55. L. Koj and A. Wiśniewski. Inquiries into the generating and proper use of questions. Wydawnictwo Naukowe UMCS, Realizm Racjonalność Relatywizm, 12, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  56. A. Koura. An approach to why-questions. Synthese, 74:191 - 206, 1988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. D. Krallmann and G. Stickel, editors. Zur Theorie der Frage. Gunter Narr Verlag, Tubingen, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  58. S. Kripke. Outline of a theory of truth. The Journal of Philosophy, 72:690 - 716, 1975.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. T. Kubiński. An essay in the logic of questions. Atti del XII Congr. Intern, di Filosofia (Firenza), 5:315 - 322, 1960.

    Google Scholar 

  60. T. Kubiński. Some observations about a notion of incomplete answer. Studia Logica, 21:39 - 42, 1967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. T. Kubiński. An Outline of the Logical Theory of Questions. Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  62. W. Lehnert. The Process of Question Answering. Wiley, New York, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  63. R. Leszko. Wyznaczanie Pewnych Klas PytańPrzez Grafy i Ich Macierze. Wyższa Szkola Pedagogiczna, Zielona Góra, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  64. R. Leszko. Graphs and matrices of compound numerical questions. Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis, forthcoming.

    Google Scholar 

  65. D. Lewis and S. Lewis. Review of Olson and Paul, contemporary philosophy in Scandinavia. Theoria, 41:39 - 60, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  66. P. Materna. Question-like and non-question-like imperative sentences. Linguistics and Philosophy, 4:393 - 404, 1981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. B. Mayo. Deliberative questions: a criticism. Analysis, 16:58–63, 1956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. M. Meyer, editor. Questions and Questioning. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  69. C. Picard. Graphs and Questionnaires. North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  70. M. Prior and A. Prior. Erotetic logic. Philosophical Review, 64:43 - 59, 1955.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. D. Shoesmith and T. Smiley. Multiple-conclusion Logic. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1978.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  72. G. Stahl. La logica de las preguntas. Anales de la Universidad de Chile, 102:71 - 75, 1956.

    Google Scholar 

  73. G. Stahl. Pragenfolgen. In M. Käsbauer and F. Kutschera, editors, Logik und Logikkalkül, pages 149 - 157. Alber, Freiburg/Munich, 1962.

    Google Scholar 

  74. K. Szaniawski. Questions and their pragmatic value. In R. Bogdan and I. Niiniluoto, editors, Logic, Language, and Probability, pages 121 - 123. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1973.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  75. P. Tichý. Questions, answers, and logic. American Philosophical Quar- terly, 15:275 - 284, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  76. G. Todt and J. Schmidt-Radefeldt. Wissensfragen und direkte Antworten in der Fragelogik LA?. Linguistiche Berichte, 62:1 - 24, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  77. G. Todt and J. Schmidt-Radefeldt. Review of Belnap and Steel [1976]. The Journal of Pragmatics, 5:95 - 101, 1981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. K. Wachowicz. Q-morpheme hypothesis. In H. Hiż, editor, Questions. D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  79. J. Wheatley. Deliberative questions. Analysis, 15:49 - 60, 1955.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  80. A. Wiśniewski. Erotetic implications. Journal of Philosophical Logic, 23:173 - 195, 1994a.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. A. Wiśniewski. On the reducibility of questions. Erkenntnis, 40:265– 284, 1994b.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  82. A. Wiśniewski. The Posing of Questions: Logical Foundations of Erotetic Inferences. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  83. A. Wiśniewski and J. Zygmunt, editors. Erotetic Logic, Deontic Logic, and Other Logical Matters: Essays in Memory of Tadeusz Kubiński. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wroclawskiego, Wroclaw, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Harrah, D. (2002). The Logic of Questions. In: Gabbay, D.M., Guenthner, F. (eds) Handbook of Philosophical Logic. Handbook of Philosophical Logic, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0387-2_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0387-2_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3919-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0387-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics