
What does the name priori mean?
a pri·o·ri (ä′ prē-ôr′ē, ā′ prī-ôr′ī) adj. 1. Proceeding from a known or assumed cause to a necessarily related effect; deductive. 2. a. Derived by or designating the process of reasoning without reference to particular facts or experience. b. Knowable without appeal to particular experience. 3.
What is another word for priori?
Synonyms for priori include inferrible, derivable, inferable, deducible, deductive, reasoned, inferential, rational, deduced and inferred. Find more similar words at ...
What does a priori mean in philosophy?
The Latin phrases a priori (“from what is before”) and a posteriori (“from what is after”) were used in philosophy originally to distinguish between arguments from causes and arguments from effects. The first recorded occurrence of the phrases is in the writings of the 14th-century logician Albert of Saxony.
What does the term 'a priori' mean?
A priori means “from the earlier” in Latin. A priori is a fact, argument, justification, or conclusion that is derived from self-evident reasoning without having to rely on observation or experience. For example, the sky is blue is an a priori knowledge. Typically, a priori arguments use a general principle or law and make specific deductions.

What is an example of an a priori?
A priori knowledge is independent from current experience (e.g., as part of a new study). Examples include mathematics, tautologies, and deduction from pure reason. A posteriori knowledge depends on empirical evidence. Examples include most fields of science and aspects of personal knowledge.
What is meant by a priori knowledge?
a priori knowledge, in Western philosophy since the time of Immanuel Kant, knowledge that is acquired independently of any particular experience, as opposed to a posteriori knowledge, which is derived from experience.
How do you use a priori in a sentence?
A Priori in a Sentence 🔉Religious people have the a priori belief that God exists without any physical proof.The jaded woman made a priori assumptions that all men were liars, but couldn't possibly know for sure because she has not dated all men.More items...
What is the difference between a priori and a posteriori reasoning?
It may seem relatively easy to give a simple definition of a priori and a posteriori knowledge and distinguish them on that basis. A priori knowledge is simply knowledge acquired by non-experiential or non-empirical means, whereas a posteriori knowledge is acquired via experience or the senses, empirically.
What is a priori for dummies?
A priori literally means "from before." If you know how many red, white, and blue gum balls are in the gum ball machine, this a priori knowledge can help you predict the color of the next ones to be dispensed.
Does a priori knowledge exist?
In other words, a priori knowledge does not exist since knowledge cannot be obtained seperate of experience. Now, the rationalist may point to mathematic knowledge as a priori because certain logical proofs can be reached absent any experience, for example, pi (the ration between a circle's circumference and diameter).
Why is math a priori?
The knowledge of mathematics (as opposed to the knowledge created by mathematics) is a priori. It is known without reference to reality. It is claimed that mathematics is a higher form of knowledge. That even if the world around us doesn't exist, mathematics is still true.
Is a priori deductive or inductive?
A priori knowledge is what is derived from such demonstration or reasoning, likewise knowledge a posteriori. In modern philosophy of science, and philosophy generally, a priori argument is typically identified as deductive, or independent of experience, a posteriori as inductive or based on empirical evidence.
What is a priori expectation?
In the absence of any systematic effects due to one or more of the factors, our a priori expectation is that any differences seen are due to the effects of unavoidable random errors only and will therefore be nonsignificant.
Is logic a priori?
Although logical knowledge certainly has some a priori components, this knowledge is not, as a whole, a priori. It is, however, wholly empirical. Logical knowledge is empirical knowledge of a priori statements and principles, and logical systems are empirical theories of the statements and principles.
Is Plato a priori or a posteriori?
This knowledge is called a priori. Any knowledge that relies on (that is, comes after or is posterior to) sense experience is called a posteriori. Plato is an example of a rationalist.
What insists on a priori knowledge?
Kant thought the categorical imperative must be discovered a priori—through reason—because, as a fundamental moral law applying to all rational beings, it cannot be discovered through mere experience: one cannot learn how one should act from how people do act.
How do you use the word posteriori in a sentence?
Examples of 'a posteriori' in a sentence a posterioriThe pure existence of a term like a posteriori means this also has a counterpart. ... Yet the quests of empirical science concern matters of fact and real existence, known true only through experience, thus "a posteriori" knowledge.More items...
What does a priori mean in law?
A priori signals an assertion that is based on prior knowledge or intuition. In Latin, the term literally means 'from [the] former'. An a priori determination is formed prior to investigation. For example: In McCulloch v.
How do you use bona fide in a sentence?
Examples of bona fide in a Sentence She has established her position as a bona fide celebrity. His latest record was a bona fide hit. They have a bona fide claim for the loss. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bona fide.
What does posteriori mean?
from the latterA posteriori, Latin for "from the latter", is a term from logic, which usually refers to reasoning that works backward from an effect to its causes. This kind of reasoning can sometimes lead to false conclusions.
What does a priori mean?
A priori is a term applied to knowledge considered to be true without being based on previous experience or observation. In this sense, a priori describes knowledge that requires no evidence.
Where does the word "a priori" come from?
A priori comes from Latin and literally translates as “from the previous” or “from the one before.”
How is a priori used in real life?
A priori is primarily used in philosophy, but is also occasionally used in general conversation and writing.
What is true a priori?
Things that are claimed to be true a priori are often thought to be self-evident, while those claimed to be true a posteriori are based on what has been experienced or demonstrated to be true.
What is a priori in philosophy?
A priori is primarily used in philosophy, but is also occasionally used in general conversation and writing. My break up with someone’s son showed me that we had no business trying again. Lessons about love can only be a posteriori never a priori. — Zinhle ka’Nobuhlaluse (@ConflictedBlkW) March 26, 2020.
What is the difference between a priori and a posteriori?
A priori contrasts with a posteriori, which literally translates as “from the latter” or “from the one behind” and is applied to things that are based on experience, observation, or existing data. A posteriori is applied to things that involve inductive reasoning, which uses specific instances to arrive at a general principle or law (from effect to cause).
Who created the term "a priori"?
The terms a priori and a posteriori were popularized by philosopher Immanuel Kant in his influential 1781 book Critique of Pure Reason, which focuses on the distinction between empirical and non-empirical knowledge. A priori knowledge is independent of experience, while a posteriori knowledge is derived from experience or observation. ...
What does "a priori" mean?
a priori. ( eɪ praɪˈɔːraɪ; ɑː prɪˈɔːrɪ) adj. 1. (Logic) logic relating to or involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to the expected facts or effects. 2. (Logic) logic known to be true independently of or in advance of experience of the subject matter; requiring no evidence for its validation or support. 3.
What is an a priori?
Adj. 1. a priori - involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to a necessary effect; not supported by fact; "an a priori judgment". analytical, analytic - of a proposition that is necessarily true independent of fact or experience; "`all spinsters are unmarried' is an analytic proposition". deductive - involving inferences ...
What is the difference between deductive and a posteriori?
a posteriori - involving reasoning from facts or particulars to general principles or from effects to causes; "a posteriori demonstration". 2. a priori - based on hypothesis or theory rather than experiment.
Can we argue a priori about mythology?
We may trace them in language, in philosophy, in myth ology, in poetry, but we cannot argue a priori about them.
What does "a priori" mean?
The term a priori is Latin for 'from what comes before' (or, less literally, 'from first principles, before experience'). In contrast, the term a posteriori is Latin for 'from what comes later' (or 'after experience').
What is priori knowledge?
A priori knowledge is that which is independent from experience. Examples include mathematics, tautologies, and deduction from pure reason. A posteriori knowledge is that which depends on empirical evidence. Examples include most fields of science and aspects of personal knowledge .
What is the Latin phrase for "from the earlier"?
Philosophy of perception. Philosophy of science. Probability. v. t. e. A priori and a posteriori ('from the earlier' and 'from the later', respectively) are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience.
What is the relationship between aprioricity, analyticity, and necessity?
Following Kant, some philosophers have considered the relationship between aprioricity, analyticity, and necessity to be extremely close. According to Jerry Fodor, " positivism, in particular, took it for granted that a priori truths must be necessary.".
Why do we know a posteriori?
This is something that (if true) one must come to know a posteriori, because it expresses an empirical fact unknowable by reason alone.
Who introduced the distinction between a priori and a posteriori criteria for the possibility of a notion?
G. W. Leibniz introduced a distinction between a priori and a posteriori criteria for the possibility of a notion in his (1684) short treatise "Meditations on Knowledge, Truth, and Ideas". A priori and a posteriori arguments for the existence of God appear in his Monadology (1714).
Is a priori knowledge analytic?
According to the analytic explanation of the a priori, all a priori knowledge is analytic; so a priori knowledge need not require a special faculty of pure intuition, since it can be accounted for simply by one's ability to understand the meaning of the proposition in question.
