Knowledge Tree
a priori
Also known as: a priori information, a priori, a priori knowledge
Facts (70)
Sources
Sources of Knowledge: Rationalism, Empiricism, and the Kantian ... press.rebus.community 16 facts
claimRené Descartes argues that substantial knowledge of the world can be acquired a priori, starting with the input of "clear and distinct" ideas.
claimThe statement 'All flying birds can fly' is an example of a priori knowledge.
claimThe statement '“Mark Twain” and “Samuel Clemens” are different names for the same person' is an example of a priori knowledge.
claimJohn Locke adopted two approaches to question the validity of innate ideas as the basis of a priori knowledge.
claimRelations of ideas are known a priori because they do not rely on empirical observation of the world, and therefore they do not provide substantive new knowledge.
claimThe statement 'Mark Twain is Samuel Clemens' is an example of a priori knowledge.
claimRelations of ideas, as defined by David Hume, concern matters like logic and mathematics, do not depend on how the world actually is, and are known a priori.
claimThe statement 'It is not the case that 1+2 = 5' is an example of a priori knowledge.
claimImmanuel Kant argues that if intuition must conform to the constitution of objects, it is impossible to know anything about those objects a priori; however, if objects conform to the human faculty of intuition, a priori knowledge becomes possible.
claimThe statement 'It is morally wrong to harm innocent people for personal gain' is an example of a priori knowledge.
claimImmanuel Kant defines the transcendental as that which is presupposed in and necessary for experience, serving as an a priori element that makes experience possible.
claimAnalytic truths are necessarily true regardless of the state of the world and are knowable a priori because they do not require empirical examination.
claimRené Descartes asserts that innate ideas, such as geometric truths and laws of logic, are known through reason independently of experience, making them a priori.
claimThe statement 'If the figure drawn on the board is a triangle, the figure has three sides' is an example of a priori knowledge.
claimImmanuel Kant posits that experience is a form of cognition that requires the understanding, and because the rules of understanding are presupposed in the human mind before any object is given, these rules are a priori and all objects of experience must necessarily conform to them.
claimThe statement 'God either exists or does not exist' is an example of a priori knowledge.
Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Dec 14, 2005 12 facts
perspectiveEmpiricists argue that a priori knowledge is limited to the realm of the analytic and consists of propositions that are not 'about the world'.
perspectiveEmpiricists assert that a priori knowledge of synthetic propositions is not possible.
perspectiveRationalists argue that synthetic propositions, such as the statement 'If a ball is green all over, then it doesn't have black spots', can be known a priori.
claimTraditionally, philosophers have attempted to answer ethical questions in moral epistemology using intuition, a priori reasoning, and the consideration of hypothetical cases.
claimA posteriori or empirical knowledge is defined as justification and knowledge that is not a priori.
claimThe received view in epistemology is that whatever is known a priori is necessarily true, though some epistemologists disagree with this position.
perspectiveSkeptics about apriority claim that all knowledge of mathematics, geometry, logic, and conceptual truths is empirical rather than a priori.
claimA priori knowledge consists of beliefs that are true, justified a priori, and not 'gettiered'.
claimParadigm examples of a priori knowledge include conceptual truths, such as 'All bachelors are unmarried', as well as truths of mathematics, geometry, and logic.
claimPhilosophers who support the use of intuition and a priori reasoning for moral knowledge debate whether the resulting justification is coherentist or foundationalist.
formulaA subject S is justified a priori in believing a proposition p if and only if the justification for believing p does not depend on any experience.
perspectiveNaturalistic philosophers consider the use of intuition and a priori reasoning for acquiring moral knowledge to be unreliable and prone to reflecting cultural and social biases.
Naturalistic Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 10 facts
claimWillard Van Orman Quine denies the existence of a priori knowledge.
claimPhilip Kitcher claims that knowledge that p is a priori if and only if it results from a process that would have produced knowledge that p regardless of the particular experiences one might have had.
claimWillard Van Orman Quine's rejection of the a priori and analyticity is integrated with his theory of confirmation holism.
claimAlvin Goldman's account of a priori knowledge is based on his reliabilist account of epistemic justification and the idea that a priori knowledge is based on processes of 'pure thought' that operate independently of experience or perception.
claimWillard Van Orman Quine argues that for knowledge to be a priori, it would have to be analytic (true in virtue of the meanings of the concepts involved), but he asserts that there is no such thing as analyticity.
claimPhilip Kitcher defends a naturalistic account of a priori knowledge based on the characteristics of the process that produces a belief.
claimNaturalistic epistemologists offer accounts of a priori knowledge based on cognitive psychology and naturalized conceptual analyses based on empirical information concerning how concepts are applied.
referenceWillard Van Orman Quine claims in his work 'Two Dogmas of Empiricism' that his anti-reductionism (confirmation holism) is equivalent to his rejection of analytic truth and a priori knowledge.
claimA priori knowledge is defined as knowledge obtained independently of experience.
claimAlvin Goldman suggests that if human beings possess reliable innate mechanisms of ratiocination and calculation, beliefs derived from these mechanisms without reliance on perception are candidates for a priori knowledge.
Epistemology - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 6 facts
claimThe distinction between a posteriori and a priori knowledge is central to the debate between empiricists and rationalists regarding whether all knowledge depends on sensory experience.
claimNaturalized epistemology relies on the methods and theories of natural sciences to examine knowledge, arguing that epistemological theories should be based on empirical observation rather than a priori reasoning.
referenceJason S. Baehr authored the entry 'A Priori and A Posteriori' for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
claimA priori knowledge is primarily associated with analytic sentences, while a posteriori knowledge is primarily associated with synthetic sentences.
claimA priori knowledge pertains to non-empirical facts and does not depend on evidence from sensory experience.
claimEpistemology distinguishes between a posteriori knowledge and a priori knowledge.
Epistemology of Testimony | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 4 facts
referenceElizabeth Fricker published 'Trusting Others in the Sciences: a priori or Empirical Warrant?' in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science in 2002.
claimTestimonial liberals contend that there is good a priori reason to believe that testimonially-based beliefs are justified.
claimPeter Graham argues that the principle TEST, which states that a testifier's statement supplies pro tanto justification, is an a priori necessary conceptual truth, even though testifiers are not reliable in all possible worlds.
quoteTyler Burge states in his 1993 work: "We are a priori entitled to accept something that is prima facie intelligible and presented as true. For prima facie intelligible propositional contents prima facie presented as true bear an a priori prima facie conceptual relation to a rational source of true presentations-as-true: Intelligible propositional expressions presuppose rational abilities and entitlement; so intelligible presentations-as-true come prima facie backed by a rational source or resource of reason; and both the content of intelligible propositional presentations-as-true and the prima facie rationality of their source indicate a prima facie source of truth. Intelligible affirmation is the face of reason; reason is a guide to truth. We are a priori prima facie entitled to take intelligible affirmation at face value."
Naturalized Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 5, 2001 4 facts
claimArmchair epistemologists are philosophers who rely on common sense empirical knowledge and a priori information to conduct their inquiries.
claimPhilip Kitcher argues that if inductive principles are specific and license particular inferences, they are likely contingent and cannot be justified by a priori or armchair methods, contradicting philosophers who claim they are necessary consequences of the concept of rationality.
claimClaims that actual people know actual facts about the world are contingent propositions that cannot be known a priori.
claimSome philosophers are a priorists, holding the view that only knowledge obtainable a priori is relevant to epistemological questions.
Epistemological Problems of Testimony plato.stanford.edu Apr 1, 2021 3 facts
referenceDavid Christensen and Hilary Kornblith published the paper 'Testimony, Memory, and the Limits of the A Priori' in the journal Philosophical Studies in 1997.
claimDavid Owens (2006) illustrates the Inheritance View with a scenario where a hearer's belief in a mathematical theorem is justified by the speaker's original a priori reasoning used to prove the theorem.
claimAnna-Sara Malmgren investigated whether there is a priori knowledge by testimony in a 2006 article in The Philosophical Review.
Rationalism vs Empiricism: Philosophy & Meaning - Vaia vaia.com Nov 12, 2024 3 facts
claimRationalism posits that knowledge is innate, uses reason as the main tool, and relies on a priori knowledge, whereas empiricism posits that knowledge is learned through experience, uses senses as the main tool, and relies on a posteriori knowledge.
claimRationalism focuses on a priori knowledge and innate ideas, while empiricism relies on a posteriori knowledge derived from sensory experience.
claimA priori knowledge is knowledge that is independent of experience and is often considered an aspect of rationalism.
Understanding epistemology and its key approaches in research cefcambodia.com Jan 21, 2023 2 facts
claimEmpiricists argue that engaging in any propositional content requires a mental process, which they define as a form of experience, implying that a priori knowledge does not exist.
claimA priori knowledge is justified independently of any experience and relies solely on reasoning, such as the mathematical statement 5 + 5 = 10.
7.1 What Epistemology Studies - Introduction to Philosophy | OpenStax openstax.org Jun 15, 2022 2 facts
Epistemology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 2 facts
claimIntuition is often believed to provide direct access to knowledge of the a priori.
claimNon-empirical or a priori knowledge is possible independently of, or prior to, any experience and requires only the use of reason, such as knowledge of logical truths like the law of non-contradiction or abstract conceptual claims.
Epistemology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2019 Edition) plato.stanford.edu Dec 14, 2005 2 facts
What is the actual difference between rationalism & empiricism? reddit.com Nov 30, 2017 1 fact
claimRationalists claim that some knowledge can be acquired a priori, meaning independently of sensory experience.
Self-Consciousness - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 13, 2017 1 fact
referencePeter Sullivan discussed solipsism and Ludwig Wittgenstein's rejection of the a priori in his 1996 article 'The ‘Truth’ in Solipsism, and Wittgenstein’s Rejection of the A Priori' published in the European Journal of Philosophy.
Naturalism in Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jan 8, 2016 1 fact
referencePhilip Kitcher authored the article 'A Priori Knowledge', published in The Philosophical Review in 1980.
Epistemology - Belief, Justification, Rationality | Britannica britannica.com Mar 13, 2026 1 fact
claimEmpiricism is defined as the theory that all significant or factual propositions are known through experience, acknowledging the existence of a priori knowledge but denying its significance.