COUNTERFACTUALS AND THE PAST HYPOTHESIS 741 not involve changes in the macro-state can give rise to very different macro-futures but not to different macro-pasts (TREE). COUNTERFACTUALS AND HYPOTHESIS TESTING IN POLITICAL SCIENCE By JAMES D. FEARON* Without the prior democratic modernization of England, the reac- COUNTERFACTUALS AND HYPOTHESIS TESTING 171 guishes between two strategies of hypothesis testing—the comparison of actual cases and counterfactual argument—and. A counterfactual conditional abbreviated CF, is a subjunctive conditional containing an if-clause which is contrary to fact. The term counterfactual was coined by. Counterfactual history, also sometimes referred to as virtual history, is a form of historiography that attempts to answer what if questions known as. Counterfactuals and Hypothesis Testing in Political Science Author(s): James D. Fearon Source: World Politics, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Jan., 1991), pp. 169-195 Noun. counterfactual (plural counterfactuals) A claim, hypothesis, or other belief that is contrary to the facts. A conditional statement in which the. Official Full-Text Publication: Counterfactuals and the Past Hypothesis on ResearchGate, the professional network for scientists. The basic idea of counterfactual theories of causation is that the meaning of causal claims can be explained in terms of counterfactual conditionals of the. Define counterfactual. counterfactual synonyms. (usually as a hypothesis). Counterfactuals; Counterfactuals; Counterfaisance;.