AQA Philosophy A Level Keywords- Questions and Answers

A posteriori Knowledge of propositions that require sense experience to prove it true or false A priori Knowledge of propositions that do not require sense experience to prove it true or false Analogy Similarities in several respects between different things e.g; Paley's watch and the Universe Analytic proposition A proposition that is true by definition i.e.; a bachelor is an unmarried man Cartesian circle Descartes' circular theory, depending on clear and distinct ideas to discuss God and depending on God to discuss clear and distinct ideas. Contingent A proposition which is true or false depending on how the world is Blik An attitude or belief which is based on the person's experience so cannot be falsified Cognitivism Sentences are only meaningful if they refer to the world and can be proven either true or false Fallacy of composition Using knowledge of an individual concept and applying it on a large scale e.g; humans have a cause so the world has a cause Deductive An argument where the conclusion is entailed by its premises i.e.; if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true Empiricism The idea that we are born with a blank state and gain knowledge through sense experience Fallacy Where the premises do not offer rational support to make the conclusion believable Inductive An argument where the the conclusion is supported by the premises, but not entailed by them