imperative

imperative
The standard mood of sentences used to issue requests and commands. Questions in the philosophy of language arising from imperatives include estimating whether the need to issue requests and commands might be as basic as the need to communicate information (animal signalling systems may often be interpreted either way), and understanding the relationship between commands and other action-guiding uses of language, such as ethical discourse. The ethical theory of prescriptivism in fact equates the two functions. A further question is whether there is an imperative logic. ‘Hump that bale!’ seems to follow from ‘Tote that barge and hump that bale!’ in something like the way that ‘It's raining’ follows from ‘It's windy and it's raining.’ But it is harder to say how to include other forms: does ‘Shut the door or shut the window!’ follow from ‘Shut the window!’, for example? The usual way to develop an imperative logic is to work in terms of the possibility of satisfying the one command without satisfying the other, thereby turning it into a variation of ordinary deductive logic.

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

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  • Imperative — Im*per a*tive, a. [L. imperativus, fr. imperare to command; pref. im in + parare to make ready, prepare: cf. F. imp[ e]ratif. See {Perade}, and cf. {Empire}.] 1. Expressive of command; containing positive command; authoritatively or absolutely… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Imperative — can mean: *Imperative mood, a grammatical mood expressing commands, direct requests, and prohibitions *Imperative programming, a programming paradigm in computer science *Moral imperative, a philosophical concept relating to obligation …   Wikipedia

  • imperative — I adjective compulsory, critical, crucial, demanding, essential, exigent, impero, indispensable, mandatory, necessary, needful, obligatory, pressing, required, requiring immediate attention, requisite, unavoidable, urgent associated concepts:… …   Law dictionary

  • imperative — [im per′ə tiv] adj. [LL imperativus, commanding < pp. of L imperare, to command: see EMPEROR] 1. having the nature of, or indicating, power or authority; commanding [an imperative gesture] 2. absolutely necessary; urgent; compelling [it is… …   English World dictionary

  • Imperative — Im*per a*tive, n. (Gram.) The imperative mood; also, a verb in the imperative mood. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • imperative — [adj1] necessary acute, burning, clamant, clamorous, compulsory, critical, crucial, crying, essential, exigent, immediate, important, importunate, indispensable, inescapable, insistent, instant, no turning back*, obligatory, pressing, urgent,… …   New thesaurus

  • imperative — 1 peremptory, imperious, *masterful, domineering Analogous words: commanding, ordering, bidding (see COMMAND vb): magisterial, *dictatorial, dogmatic, oracular: arbitrary, autocratic, despotic (see ABSOLUTE) Contrasted words: supplicating or… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • imperative — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of vital importance. 2) giving an authoritative command. 3) Grammar denoting the mood of a verb that expresses a command or exhortation, as in come here! ► NOUN ▪ an essential or urgent thing. DERIVATIVES imperatively adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • imperative — I adj. 1) imperative to + inf. (it is imperative to act now) 2) imperative that + clause; subj. (it is imperative that you be/should be present) II n. 1) a moral imperative 2) an imperative that + clause; subj. (it is a moral imperative that no… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • imperative — I UK [ɪmˈperətɪv] / US adjective 1) formal extremely important and urgent Long term investing is risky, and careful planning is imperative. it is imperative (that): It is imperative that these claims are dealt with quickly. it is imperative to do …   English dictionary

  • imperative — im|per|a|tive1 [ ım perətıv ] adjective 1. ) FORMAL extremely important and urgent: Long term investing is risky, and careful planning is imperative. it is imperative (that): It is imperative that these claims are dealt with quickly. it is… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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