Conditional declarations with the same syntactic form but different contents may take to completely different conclusions. This point has been highlighted by some researchers (e.g., Wason) as evidence of the inability of the human mind to understand the conditional sentences. In the present article, we discuss the importance of being considered the pragmatic influences in the daily conditional reasoning; because, differently of the logical reasoning, the daily reasoning does not happen in "a vacuum", but inserted in a context where the pragmatic influences occur. Initially, we introduce some precepts of the formal logic for the conditional reasoning. Next, we present the interpretation of the conditional sentences in the natural language. Some empiric evidences for the influence of pragmatic factors in the conditional reasoning will also be discussed. Finally, we consider the "theory of if" proposed by Braine and O'Brien that establishes a connection between the mental and pragmatic logic in the daily reasoning.
Conditional reasoning; Pragmatic influences; Daily reasoning; Theory of if
