A priori and a posteriori

Can you know something is true without ever seeing it?

Imagine you're learning about different types of fruit in a foreign country. You hear someone say, "An apple is a fruit," but you haven't seen an apple yet.

You understand that apples belong to a broader category called 'fruit' without needing to see one. This shows that some knowledge (like 'apples are fruit') can be known without direct experience.

Example

You know that an apple is a fruit because you understand the concept of 'fruit' and can apply it to apples.

Remember this

This concept, called Kripke's naming theory, explains how we can know some truths (like 'apples are fruit') without needing to experience them firsthand.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related concepts

Kripke's Naming and Necessity showed

Can you name water without knowing its chemical formula?

Verificationism

Can words mean anything at all?

logical positivism collapsed

Can a philosophy prove itself scientifically?

Logical positivism

Logical positivism's verification principle claims only empirically verifiable statements are meaningful

Knowledge

Can you truly know something if luck plays a role in your belief?

Principle of sufficient reason

Every contingent fact has a sufficient reason

Swipe through 100 ML concepts daily

Open Pocket Polymath