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July 26, 2005
Ch.IV. Q.21. A Priori and A Posteriori
A PRIORI and a posteriori proof have been employed to prove the existence of God. A priori proof reasons from forms of cognition which are seen to be prior to and independent of experience. A posteriori proof reasons from empirical premises—drawn from experience. Our acquaintance with a priori premises is occasioned by experience; but our assurance of their validity is intuitive and not drawn from experience.
2. Aristotle and the scholastics applied the phrase a priori to reasoning from cause to effect, and the phrase a posteriori to reasoning from effect to cause.1 The definitions here given have prevailed since the time of Kant.2
3. A priori proof is not demonstrative unless both the premises and the deductions made from them are necessary. In Theism this is not the case; for, as has been said already, the being of God is implicitly postulated in every theistic argument. Moreover, the purely a priori nature of theistic arguments called a priori is disputable.
4. A posteriori arguments are most convincing with the majority of men, who find it difficult to follow abstract reasoning or appreciate its force. The value of a priori arguments lies in this, that they show men's belief in God to be grounded in the original constitution of the human mind.3
Posted by Debra Bullock at July 26, 2005 06:38 PM
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