 A counterfactual is a proposition in the form of a subjunctive conditional. The antecedent posits some circumstance, typically one that is contrary to fact. For example, in our gas grill world, the flame was high, and the meat was well done. We might reason: “if the flame had been set to low, the meat would have been rare”. The antecedent posits a hypothetical state of affairs, and the consequent describes what would have happened in that hypothetical situation.