Questions tagged [analytic-synthetic-divide]
The analytic-synthetic-divide tag has no usage guidance.
30
questions
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Kant's Notion of Synthetic A Prioiri as Logical Entailment
Is there something wrong about interpreting Kant's notion of synthetic a priori statements to be logical entailments?
I understand, I think, that Kant didn't want to say such statements (e.g math ...
4
votes
1answer
213 views
Why can we not reduce necessity to analyticity?
Why can’t we eliminate talk of necessity and possible worlds, for talk of analyticity and (non-modal) logical consistency? Has there been any attempt in recent times to do this? I'm not 100% sure, but ...
1
vote
2answers
167 views
Can “knowledge” only be synthetic according to Kant?
I have read secondary sources claiming that Kant conceives of knowledge as a strictly synthetic affair, and that analytic judgments are thus not knowledge. This is relatively consistent with what Kant ...
0
votes
0answers
49 views
Does Kant consider extendedness metaphysically (analytic) a priori?
In Kant's famous division between a priori vs a postriori, and synthetic vs analytic, Kant's example for a priori analytic proposition is:
All bodies are extended.
Without immediately delving ...
2
votes
1answer
266 views
Are propositions in mathematics synthetic or analytic?
I'm reading Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and I understand that he thought that "Mathematical Judgements are all synthetic". I would like to know where does this debate lies or if it is of interest ...
1
vote
2answers
275 views
What is the use of analytic propositions?
[Note: I'm using Kant's terms.]
Analytic proposition, for example "all bodies are extended", or "a=a", seems like an unhelpful type of proposition (contra to the synthetic a priori and a postriori ...
0
votes
1answer
78 views
Role of definitions in analytic–synthetic distinction
A: All bachelors are unmarried
B: Water is liquid
We all agree that A is analytic. To prove its truth, we only need to replace "bachelor" with its definition. The proposition B can be controversial,...
1
vote
0answers
203 views
A priori and a posteriori within an axiomatic framework?
I am not a philosopher, so please excuse my limited understanding of these basic philosophy concepts. I am having some difficulty understanding what truly constitutes an a priori statement/truth (I'm ...
3
votes
1answer
279 views
Quine on Necessity
Lately, I have been reading some of Quine's works on modality. I can't help but feel that many of his pronouncements on modality are wrong/misguided, although pinpointing exactly where is goes wrong ...
8
votes
1answer
568 views
What would be gained philosophically if logicism succeeds?
Any logic similar to predicate logic (which Frege and Russell used?) is already a pretty complicated system. Its axioms don't seem to have something to do with analyticity as conceived by Kant (“...
0
votes
0answers
56 views
Is the location of Wyoming a posteriori and analytic?
I answered the following question, but wasn't absolutely sure that I did so viably:
Fallacy?: "Wyoming - It's like no place on Earth"
Is the location of places, like Wyoming on earth, ...
5
votes
2answers
539 views
If one agrees with Quine's dissolution of the Analytic/Synthetic distinction, what is left of Kant's epistemology?
One of Kant's most important (if not the most important) result is his argument (proof?) that synthetic a priori knowledge is possible.
If one agrees with Quine's argument against Analyticity as ...
1
vote
0answers
95 views
Rethinking arithmetic operations after J.L. Austin's performativity?
According to Kant, arithmetic statements such as "7+5=12" are synthetic a priori. Could we alternatively think of this not as a statement, but as an arithmetic-logic operation to be executed (like a ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Does 5 + 7 = 12 really say anything new?
I'm not sure why 5 + 7 = 12 should say anything new: I take it to be a shorthand notation to give a name to 5 + 7, which anyway is nothing but 5 times the unit + 7 times the unit, so there is not ...
2
votes
4answers
313 views
Redefining the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction in Terms of Computational Complexity
I've been reading Kant for the first time and encountered Quine's objections to the analytic/synthetic distinction and am want to agree that they feel a little obscure in their definitions. That is, ...
3
votes
2answers
602 views
Kant's analytic/synthetic propositions
In the Critique of Pure Reason, an example of an analytic proposition is that all bodies are extended, and an example of a synthetic proposition is that all bodies are heavy (A7|B11), however in the ...
1
vote
2answers
171 views
The Analytic/Synthetic Distinction in false mathematical propositions
Are all mathematical propositions a priori analytic?
The most common example used is 2+2=4. The truth lies in the meaning of the parts of the proposition, and is therefore a priori analytic.
But ...
2
votes
3answers
270 views
Is the existence of a thing an analytic proposition?
Is the existence (existence or subsistance) of a thing an analytic proposition?
If I talk about a thing x, any thing, and say "x exists", would it be an analytic proposition? I think it would be ...
1
vote
2answers
622 views
Is this proposition analytic or synthetic?
Consider the following statement:
Cats have four legs
This is an analytic statement, since its truth can be established by looking at the subject and predicate; one does not need to look further ...
3
votes
1answer
267 views
Is Quine's epistemology really just a linguistic reinterpretation of Kant's?
Kant's epistemology: There are facts out there, but we can never access them directly, we can only perceive them the way they are presented to us by our own minds.
Quine: There are facts out there, ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
What's the current status of the “paradox of analysis”? And are there any strong and widely accepted resolutions?
It would seem that figuring out a solution to the paradox of analysis would be of prime importance to philosophers, especially considering the fact that conceptual analysis seems central to ...
7
votes
2answers
702 views
Quine - two dogmas of empiricism
I'm trying to understand this paper. Seems to me like it all stems from a rejection of "meaning"... ie: Quine is saying statements don't mean anything. And this is what leads to the rejection of the ...
4
votes
4answers
185 views
Is it possible to argue that ideas don't exist, only facts exist?
I was thinking that even Hume, or the Logical Positivists, despite being the standard bearers of empiricism, still hold on to a lingering rationalism, since they believe the independent existence of ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Kant's cleavage of knowledge
In the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant goes to great lengths to distinguish transcendental knowledge from other a priori knowledge. For Kant, is transcendental knowledge distinct from analytic or ...
6
votes
1answer
744 views
Did the Logical Positivists accept synthetic a priori knowledge?
My understanding of Logical Positivists is that, following Wittgenstein, they accepted only 2 types of proposition as meaningful:
Propositions based on formal logic (i.e. tautologies)
Empirically ...
12
votes
9answers
708 views
Is there any reason to believe that there are things which science cannot tell us?
Science can only tell us a posteriori synthetic truths, can this category extend to all propositions about the world. Surely the only things which can by known ONLY by a priori analytic are ...
4
votes
1answer
243 views
Kant - analytic/synthetic propositons
I attend a small gathering of philosophers and guest speakers in my local town where we are sometimes lucky enough to get a professor from some university or college to come to give guest lectures.
...
2
votes
1answer
128 views
Is a posteriori analytic philosophy just science?
Analytic philosophy primarily tries to solve problems a priori. Science can be considered to be synthetic a posteriori, based of some a priori theoretical framework. But would any conclusions that you ...
4
votes
1answer
174 views
Why does it matter whether knowledge is synthetic or analytic?
I have done some reading around Kant's idea of splitting knowledge into synthetic and analytic. I don't understand why does this split matter, knowledge could be split in other way by different ...
6
votes
1answer
154 views
How might a modern defender of positivism classify a “speech act”?
A few people here have wondered whether positivism is really dead. I was under the impression that it was for a long time; but there seem to be some sympathizers with positivism here, and I'd be ...
