The hypothesis logic is the antecedent of a conditional proposition. An extensive mathematical or scientific investigation often assumes the form of a vast conditional proposition. The hypothesis is usually stated once and for all at the beginning and taken for granted throughout the investigation. The study of hypotheses of this type and the deduction of their logical consequences is what mathematics is all about.
Thus, the axioms of Euclidean geometry form the hypothesis on the basis of which the principles of geometry are proved. In natural science, the truth of the hypothesis, which is a matter of indifference to the mathematician, is of fundamental importance. It is rare, if ever, for this to be examined directly, and cannot always be deduced from known generalizations, so a hypothesis is usually established or disproven by studying its logical implications. An unfulfilled consequence of a hypothesis is sufficient to refine it, but no number of verified consequences, however large, is sufficient for its complete demonstration.
