Even if they were different in many aspects

[keannu]

1.Does this "they might never have dared" mean a counterfactual result that actually didn't happen? I mean "they actually dared to experiment in ways", but without rivalry, they wouldn't have never dared to experiment", right?
2.Does this "even if" have to be corrected to "even though"? The latter refers to a reality, while the former, a possibility or counter-factuality.

42)For half a century, from Picasso’s arrival in Paris in 1904 to Henri Matisse’s death in 1954, the two artists were not only rivals for the leadership of the international avant-garde but also each other’s greatest critic and fan. They could foster creativity through rivalry. Throughout history, there are many other talented contemporaries―Verdi and Wagner, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Gauguin and Van Gogh―who tested and taught one another, pushing each other to experiment in ways they might never have dared. Even if they were different in many aspects, the competition through rivalry inspired greater innovation.

 

[5jj]

Both 'if' and 'though' are possible here.

 

[keannu]

I learned "even if" doesn't contain a fact, but referring to a dictionary, it does. I've wasted too much time sticking to only one principle.

 

[Raymott]

"Even if" is used when the writer doesn't want to debate whether they are, in fact, "different in many aspects".

 

[keannu]

So it still means a possibility, not indicating a fact. Okay, my understanding has been right. Would you please answer the first question as well?

 

[Raymott]

So it still means a possibility, not indicating a fact. Okay, my understanding has been right. Would you please answer the first question as well?

They did dare, but without the rivalry, they might not have dared.

 

[keannu]

Thanks, does it have the omitted part like "they might never have dared (ways)" or "they might never have dared (to experiment in ways)?
I don't think "dare" can have a noun as an object, so the latter probably works.

pushing each other to experiment in ways they might never have dared.

 

[Raymott]

Thanks, does it have the omitted part like "they might never have dared (ways)" or "they might never have dared (to experiment in ways)?
I don't think "dare" can have a noun as an object, so the latter probably works.

pushing each other to experiment in ways they might never have dared.

Yes.