Reason as a source of knowledge Flashcards
Define a priori knowledge
Knowledge that can be acquired without experience of the external world - understood through thought alone
Define a posteriori knowledge
Knowledge that can only be acquired from sense experience of the external world
Give an example of a priori knowledge
Triangles have 3 sides
Cubes have 6 faces
Bachelors are unmarried
Give an example of a posteriori knowledge
Snow is white, grass is green
It is currently raining
Water boils at 100 degrees
Define analytic propositions/truths
A proposition that is true or false in virtue of the meanings of the words
Give an example of an analytic truth
Bachelors are unmarried
Squares have 4 sides
Define synthetic propositions/truths
A proposition that is true or false in virtue of how the world is
Give an example of a synthetic truth
Ripe tomatoes are red
Grass is green
Paris is the capital of France
What is a contingent truth
A proposition that could be true or false; it is either true or false but it is possible that it could have been the opposite.
What is a necessary truth
A proposition that must be true (if it is true) or must be false (if it is false)
Give an example of a contingent truth
London is the capital of England
I am reading this right now
My name is Rachel
Give an example of a necessary truth
A triangle has 3 sides
2 + 2 = 4
Define empiricism
All our knowledge comes from (sense) experience
OR
There is no a priori knowledge of synthetic propositions about the world external to our minds
Define rationalism
We have some a priori knowledge of synthetic propositions about the world external to our minds
OR
We can acquire some a (a priori) knowledge through rational insight and reason
Define innsatism
We are born with some knowledge which is innate
