What are Apriori and Asteriori?

"Apriori" and "a posteriori" - two mysterious and at the same time powerful terms that have deep philosophical roots, but are quite common in our everyday speech. Both words came to us from Latin, where a priori means "from the previous one", a a posteriori - "from the next." These terms not only enrich our vocabulary, but also open the door to difficult questions about how we learn about the world and what knowledge we can consider reliable.

Apriori - this is the knowledge we receive regardless of any experience. This is something we know before we even interact with the world or gather facts. It may seem strange: how can you know something without having any experience? But philosophers claim that such knowledge really exists.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant was one of the most influential thinkers who developed the idea a priori knowledge. He explained that we have built-in structures of understanding the world, for example, mathematical knowledge. After all, none of us discovers that 2+2=4, with the help of experiments. We don't learn it through observation or experience. This is knowledge that exists in us a priori - before any experience, and does not require evidence. The situation is the same with logic: the rules of logic are a priori, because they are the basis of our thinking.

Another example is geometry. Euclidean geometry, which is studied at school, is based on axioms that do not require proof. They just "are". For example, we take the fact that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points as something obvious and self-evident. This knowledge is a priori, because we have no sensory confirmation for it - it comes from the very nature of our thinking.

In contrast to a priori knowledge, a posteriori this is the knowledge we acquire through experience, observation and experimentation. This is the knowledge that comes after we are directly confronted with reality.

For example, you may not know that water freezes at 0°C until you see it with your own eyes, or get such knowledge from others. This knowledge you gain through experience, and it is not "embedded" in your mind like mathematical or logical knowledge. This is a typical example of knowledge a posteriori.

Another example: we learn that summer is warmer than winter, only thanks to observations and experience of living at different times of the year. Such knowledge is the result of our direct contact with the world around us.

Immanuel Kant he was one of the first philosophers who developed in detail the concept of distinguishing knowledge into a priori and a posteriori. He emphasized that our knowledge is not limited to only one of these types. Both types of knowledge are important and they complement each other.

Rationalist philosophers like René Descartes emphasized the role a priori knowledge - something we can only know with the help of the mind, regardless of sensory experience. For them, reason was the main source of truth. For example, Descartes believed that human existence can be proven a priori through reason, not through experience. His famous phrase "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I exist") is one example of knowledge that can be acquired independently of sensory data.

In contrast, empiricistsuch as John Locke or David Hume, it was emphasized that our mind is a kind of "clean board" on which we record knowledge only after we know the world through experience. For them, all knowledge is posterior, and we can't know anything without experience.

In modern life, we rarely think about what knowledge we get a priori and what knowledge we get a posteriori. However, these concepts are more common than they seem.

In everyday conversations, the word "a priori" is often used when we want to emphasize something obvious, something that does not require evidence. For example, the phrase: "This a priori it is clear that one must learn mathematics for success in science" means that this knowledge is perceived as an axiom, as something self-evident.

On the other hand, a posteriori we gain knowledge through experience. For example, when you say: "Now I a posteriori I know that without planning, the trip will be chaotic", which means that your experience has given you this knowledge.