Ayer's Account of A Priori Knowledge as Tautological and Analytic
Understanding A Priori Knowledge
Definition
A priori knowledge
Knowledge that is justified independently of experience.
Definition
A posteriori
Knowledge that is justified through experience.
A priori knowledge refers to knowledge that is independent of experience. It is contrasted with a posteriori knowledge, which is derived from experience.Example
- A Priori Example: "All bachelors are unmarried."
- This statement is true by definition and does not require empirical verification.
Ayer's View: A Priori Knowledge as Tautological
Ayer argues that a priori knowledge is tautological, meaning it is true by definition and does not provide new information about the world.
- Tautologies: Statements that are true in all possible worlds because they are self-evident.
- Example: "All bachelors are unmarried" is a tautology because the predicate ("unmarried") is contained in the subject ("bachelors").
Ayer's view aligns with the logical positivist emphasis on the verifiability principle, which holds that a statement is meaningful only if it is empirically verifiable or analytically true.
Analytic Statements
Definition
Analytic statements
Analytic statements are true by virtue of their meaning. They do not require empirical verification.
"All triangles have three sides" is analytic because the concept of "three sides" is inherent in the definition of "triangle."
Tip- When identifying analytic statements, ask yourself: "Is the predicate contained within the subject?"
- If yes, the statement is likely analytic.
