LogFAQs > #967980965

SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

The statement "he likes apples" is contradicted by the existence of apples he doesn't like.

hmm, good, close but not quite.

I think it's in terms of implied scope. since he cannot possibly "have" all apples, we understand the scope is limited quite significantly to the small amount of apples that he could possibly physically have.

when we say he likes apples, yes, we do assume the scope is quite broad, but we still don't quite get to "literally all".

> he likes apples
> he doesn't like mcintosh apples
not strictly a contradiction; ie: these statements are compatible

> he likes all apples
> he doesn't like mcintosh apples
these statements contradict and cannot possibly both be true

I think I would say that the implied qualifier is "generally"

he likes apples -> he generally likes apples