dispositionsthat

Dispositionsthat is a coined term used in philosophical and linguistic discussions to describe a class of attributions that link dispositional properties with that-clauses. The word combines disposition, a tendency of an entity to behave in a certain way under specified conditions, with that, the conjunction that introduces a clause specifying the content of the disposition. A dispositionsthat statement thus attributes to an entity a tendency to realize a future state described by a that-clause when certain conditions obtain.

In practice, a dispositionsthat claim would look like: “The glass has a dispositionsthat it will shatter when struck with a hammer of sufficient force.” More generally, it expresses a conditional or content-rich dispositional prediction, where the outcome is named in a that-clause. The notion is used to clarify how dispositions are stated and analyzed, particularly when distinguishing between a tendency to behave in a certain way (a disposition) and the specific content of that tendency (the that-clause).

Philosophical use tends to intersect with discussions of occurrent versus dispositional states, and with the role of conditionals and counterfactuals in ascribing properties. Critics note that dispositionsthat formulations may be redundant with standard dispositional predicates or prone to ambiguity in interpretation, depending on the semantics of the that-clause.

Overall, dispositionsthat remains a neologism rather than a standard term. It is used mainly to illustrate how dispositional claims can be packaged with contentful that-clauses, highlighting issues in modality, attribution, and language. See also: disposition (philosophy), counterfactuals, modal logic, that-clauses.