Definition
Plain language
The 'if' part of an argument — the thing assumed before the conclusion follows.
As stated in the literature
The antecedent or hypothesis of an implication; under classical logic a false premise makes the whole conditional trivially provable regardless of the consequent.
Also called: premises, hypothesis
Why it matters: A conclusion is only as trustworthy as what it assumes, so an argument resting on a premise that can never be satisfied proves nothing at all.
For example, in "if it rained last night, the pavement is wet," the premise is that it rained last night.
Heard on the show
“That's the experiment that turns the design choice from a hypothesis into a finding.”Episode 005 — Why a Debugger Designed for Humans Is the Wrong Tool for an AI Agent