Key Terms & Distinctions Flashcards
(39 cards)
Proposition
A statement that is either true or false. It is made by combining concepts into sentences.
E.g. ‘The dog is in the house’
Concept
A general notion or an abstract idea that cannot be true or false, such as; ‘sister’, ‘evolution’, ‘green’ etc.
A priori
Propositions that can be known to be true or false without reference to sense experience.
E.g. ‘A triangle is a shape with three sides’
A posteriori
Propositions that are found to be true only after sense experience
E.g. Through observation
E.g. Bob is going bald.
Analytic
Propositions that are true or false by definition
E.g. ‘A bachelor is a unmarried man’
Synthetic
Propositions that are not true by definition, they are true by the way the world is. They tell us something substantial about the world - e.g. ‘Classroom 3 is painted lilac’
Contingent
Propositions which are true (or false) but do not have to be true or false
E.g. ‘Tony Blair became prime minister in 1997’
Necessary
Propositions which have to be true or false. It is logically impossible for them to be other than they are.
E.g. ‘Two parallel lines will never meet’
Innate
Knowledge that is present in the mind at the time of birth
Learned
Knowledge which is not present in the mind at the time of birth, but is acquired after birth through various means
E.g. ‘Spain is hot’.
Deduction
A kind of reasoning in which the conclusion must follow from the premises
E.g. 1) all men are mortal, 2) Socrates is man, therefore, 3) Socrates is mortal
Induction
A kind of reasoning that draws generalised conclusions from a finite collection of specific observations.
E.g. 1) the sun has always risen, therefore, 2) the sun will always rise.
Acquaintance Knowledge
‘I know Oxford well’
Ability Knowledge
‘I know how to ride a bike’
Propositional Knowledge
‘I know that eagles are birds’
JTB Definition of Knowledge
Justified -
True -
Belief -
Idea and Knowledge difference
T
Concept vs. Proposition
Concepts are general notions, usually expressed by single words, e.g. ‘cat’, that cannot be true or false. However, when concepts are combined, they form propositions that can be true or false. E.g. the concepts ‘Fred’, ‘cat’ and ‘obese’ combine to form the proposition that ‘Fred’s cat is obese’, and this proposition is either true or false, depending on the BMI of Fred’s cat.
Innate vs Learned
Innate knowledge is that which is present in the mind from birth, when there has been no life exposure or experience to draw from or refer to. This contrasts which learned knowledge which is knowledge garnered directly from the source of experience which innate knowledge by definition, cannot rely on.
Rationalist vs. Empiricist
Rationalists think that the origin of the most important knowledge is reason as it is universal and indubitable. Empiricist’s think that the origin of the most important knowledge is experience because it allows exploration without boundaries.
Analytic vs. Synthetic
Analytic is a proposition made true by definition that is simply what it is, whereas a synthetic proposition is true because of the way the world works and thus had human hindrance behind the result such as the name given to a geographical location or the colour chosen to paint something.
Necessary vs. Contingent
Necessary knowledge must be as it is as any alternative would not adhere to any line of logic and simply could not be. Contingent truths are statements that were not indefinitely defined and had different routes of possibility, such as any instance of current event which could have turned out differently.
A priori vs. A posteriori
A priori is something that can be known without reference to sense experience and so for example is a product of logical thought based perhaps on existing patterns or related deductions. A posteriori however is a statement that must be drawn from observation – it is not a pre-evident truth.
Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning
Deductive reasoning is knowledge concluded from step by step deductive logic that results in a clear and evident reasoning. Induction is reasoning with no real evidential foundation as it draws simply of a constant which is subject to change.
