potentialwhether

Potentialwhether is a coined term in philosophy of language and modal semantics describing a class of propositions whose truth value is conditional on a hypothetical or contingent state of affairs expressed by a whether clause. The construct aims to capture how people think about the potential truth of a proposition across alternative outcomes, blending modality (potentiality) with inquiry into conditions (whether).

In analysis, potentialwhether statements separate the evaluation of a proposition from the evaluation of the underlying condition. They point to how the verdict of a proposition depends on whether a given condition holds, rather than asserting the outcome outright. For example, “Potentialwhether the project succeeds depends on funding” signals that the truth of the project’s success is conditioned by funding, and is not settled by itself.

Etymology reflects its function: it combines potential with the interrogative/disjunctive notion of whether, to denote dependence of outcome on a conditional factor. The term is not widely adopted in standard diction or textbooks, and appears mainly in theoretical discussions about modality, conditionals, and the semantics of inquiry.

Examples can illustrate the idea. Potentialwhether the proposal will be approved depends on the budget, indicating that the proposition “the proposal will be approved” is, in a sense, a potential truth contingent on budget decisions. In debate, one might frame a question as a potentialwhether inquiry: “Potentialwhether we switch to Plan B will affect costs,” emphasizing that the decision hinges on Plan B’s viability.

See also: potential, whether, modal logic, conditional probability, counterfactuals, linguistics.