presuppositionally

Presuppositionally is an adverb that indicates something is being done or understood based on a presupposition. A presupposition is an implicit assumption that is taken for granted in the utterance of a sentence. For example, in the sentence "John stopped smoking," the presupposition is that John used to smoke. This presupposition is not directly stated but is understood by the listener.

When we act or speak "presuppositionally," we are operating under the assumption that certain things are true or have already happened, even if they are not explicitly mentioned. This can be seen in everyday communication. If someone asks, "Did you remember to buy milk?", they are presuppositionally assuming that you were supposed to buy milk in the first place. The question itself carries the weight of that prior expectation.

Understanding presuppositions is important in linguistics and philosophy of language because it reveals how meaning is conveyed beyond the literal words used. It highlights the shared knowledge and background assumptions that facilitate comprehension. Operating presuppositionally can also sometimes lead to misunderstandings if the presupposition is not shared or is incorrect. For instance, if you ask someone if they have seen your lost cat, and they haven't seen it and didn't know it was lost, the presupposition creates a disconnect. The adverb "presuppositionally" helps to articulate this reliance on unstated, assumed information.