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a priori |
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a prioriIn epistemology, knowledge that is independent of all particular experiences, as opposed to a posteriori (or empirical) knowledge, which derives from experience. The terms have their origins in the medieval Scholastic debate over Aristotelian concepts (see Scholasticism). Immanuel Kant initiated their current usage, pairing the analytic-synthetic distinction with the a priori–a posteriori distinction to define his theory of knowledge. a priori 1. Logic relating to or involving deductive reasoning from a general principle to the expected facts or effects 2. Logic known to be true independently of or in advance of experience of the subject matter; requiring no evidence for its validation or support a priori [¦ā prē¦ȯr·ē] (mathematics) Pertaining to deductive reasoning from assumed axioms or supposedly self-evident principles, supposedly without reference to experience. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| No one would have guessed a priori that this movement of a middle-aged man's body would cause fish to come out of the sea into his larder, but experience shows that it does, and the middle-aged man therefore continues to go to the City, just as the cat in the cage continues to lift the latch when it has once found it. We should not A PRIORI have expected it, but it is undoubtedly a fact. We may trace them in language, in philosophy, in mythology, in poetry, but we cannot argue a priori about them. |
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