Take the conditional: "if this bird is a raven then this bird is black". "This bird is a raven" is called the antecendent, "this bird is black" is the consequent. The truth of the antecedent is dependent on the truth of the consequent. If the consequent is false, if "this bird" is not black, then we can be assured that "this bird" is not a raven. | Take the conditional: "if this bird is a raven then this bird is black". "This bird is a raven" is called the antecendent, "this bird is black" is the consequent. The truth of the antecedent is dependent on the truth of the consequent. If the consequent is false, if "this bird" is not black, then we can be assured that "this bird" is not a raven. |