Philosophy: Explanation and Summary of Kant's Distinction Between Analytic and Synthetic Statements

Kantian philosophy is perhaps the most difficult and dense of philosophy's offerings. However, reading and understanding Kant- particularly his moral and ethical philosophy- is immensely rewarding if one is equipped for it! One of the linchpins of Kantian philosophy (that has also played a significant role in much of philosophy since Kant) is the distinction between the analytic and synthetic statement. Any philosopher or student embarking on a first time reading of Kant would do well to understand the difference.

For Kant, an analytic judgment is simply explicative. It doesn't provide any additional knowledge other than that contained in the statement. The only thing necessary to understand an analytic judgment is a knowledge of the language and the meaning of the words used because the predicate is contained in the subject. An example of an analytic judgment might include the statement, "All bachelors are unmarried men" . If we understand the meanings of bachelors and men, then we need do no further examination to understand the implications of this statement. We know that this statement is true without any additional knowledge because the definition of a bachelor is one who is an unmarried man. Conversely, a synthetic judgment is ampliative. The predicate does not contain the subject. "All bachelors are fun" might be an example of this sort of statement. The definition of bachelor is not "one who is fun", so this statement would need to be demonstrated as true or false using some other means than just a basic understanding of the language.

A priori and a posteriori judgments are also important in understanding Kant's distinction between analytic and synthetic knowledge. A priori knowledge is knowledge prior to experience, or knowledge that we do not need tangible experiences to have. A posteriori knowledge, however, is knowledge that is gained from experience and could include a statement like, "my dog plays with bugs." This knowledge would be impossible to obtain without either firsthand experience of my dog playing with bugs or the experience of being told by someone else (who had had this experience) of my dog playing with bugs. It is not an innate sort of knowledge and could not possibly be obtained by thinking, even by someone who knew both that I exist and that I have a dog. Analytic knowledge is similar to a priori knowledge and some philosophers view the two as interchangeable. Kant, however, believes that there is a clear distinction between the two.