A priori and a posteriori

The Latin phrases a priori ("from the earlier") and a posteriori ("from the later") are philosophical terms popularized by Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy. These terms are used to distinguish knowledge or justification independent of experience (a priori), like mathematics, from knowledge or justification dependent on empirical evidence (a posteriori), like most aspects of science.

Examples[edit]

A priori

Consider the proposition, "If George V reigned at least four days, then he reigned more than three days." This is something known a priori, as it can be derived by reason alone.

A posteriori

The proposition "George V reigned from 1910 to 1936" is known a posteriori, as it expresses an empirical fact unknowable by reason alone.

Analyticity and necessity[edit]

Relation to the analytic-synthetic[edit]

The distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge is often related to the analytic-synthetic distinction. Analytic propositions are true by virtue of their meaning, while synthetic propositions require empirical investigation. Some philosophers have argued that a priori knowledge is analytic, but this view has been criticized, notably by Willard Van Orman Quine.

Relation to the necessary and contingent[edit]

Necessary truths are those whose negation is self-contradictory, while contingent truths are those whose negation is not. It is often thought that necessary propositions are known a priori, as they are true in all possible worlds. However, Saul Kripke argued that there are necessary a posteriori truths, such as the proposition that water is H₂O.

History[edit]

Early uses[edit]

The terms "a priori" and "a posteriori" appear in Latin translations of Euclid's Elements, and were used philosophically by Plato and Albert of Saxony.

Immanuel Kant[edit]

Kant blended rationalist and empiricist theories, arguing that while all cognition begins with experience, not all of it arises from experience. He distinguished a priori cognition, based on the form of possible experience, from a posteriori cognition, based on the content of experience. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason explores these distinctions in depth.

References[edit]

Baehr, Jason S. (2006). "A Priori and A Posteriori". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Boghossian, Paul Artin (2003) [1997]. "14: Analyticity". In Hale, Bob; Wright, Crispin. A Companion to the Philosophy of Language. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0631213260. Search this book on
Fodor, Jerry (1998). Concepts: Where Cognitive Science Went Wrong. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198236368. Search this book on
Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "a priori knowledge". Encyclopædia Britannica. I: A-Ak - Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
Kant, Immanuel (1781). Kritik der reinen Vernunft [Critique of Pure Reason]. Im Insel-Verlag. Search this book on
Kitcher, Philip (2001). "A Priori Knowledge Revisited". In Boghossian, Paul; Peacocke, Christopher. New Essays on the A Priori. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199241279. Search this book on
Palmquist, Stephen (December 1987). "A Priori Knowledge in Perspective: (II) Naming, Necessity and the Analytic A Posteriori". The Review of Metaphysics. 41 (2): 255–282.
Quine, Willard Van Orman (1951). "Two Dogmas of Empiricism". The Philosophical Review. 60: 20–43. doi:10.2307/2181906.

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