Nonraven

Origin

- + raven

Full definition of nonraven

Noun

1. That which is not a raven.
• 1982, Paul Horwich, Probability and evidence (page 60)Similarly, there are various ways of gathering the data that something is a nonblack nonraven.
• 2001, Peter Achinstein, The book of evidenceLet us return to the hypothesis that generated the paradox: All nonblack things are nonravens.
• 2007, Marc Lange, Philosophy of science: an anthologyHempel remarks that if we know that we are indoors, and so that the object under examination is a nonraven, then we have no need to check whether it is nonblack (ie, to do ornithology indoors) in order for our report of that object to logically entail H's development.

Usage notes

Used in philosophical discussions of Hempel's raven paradox.