Reason as a source of Knowledge

Question 1

What is a Necessary Truth?

Answer 1

A truth that is true and could not be otherwise. There is no alternate universe in which this is not true, for example: “a Triangle has 3 sides.”

Question 2

What is a Contingent Truth?

Answer 2

A truth that happens to be true by chance, but may not have been how the world actually is. It is not true in ever possible world. An example of this is “I am wearing a hat.”

Question 3

What is A Priori Knowledge?

Answer 3

Knowledge that can be acquired without sense experience, and by checking the state of affairs in the world. For example, we can know what the answer to 2,000,000,000 + 2,000,000,000 without laying these quantities out and individually counting.

Question 4

What is A Posteriori Knowledge?

Answer 4

Knowledge that can only be acquired by sense experience. For example, Knowing how hot fire feels when touched.