Key Philosophical Concepts: A-Priori, Experience, Imperative
A Priori and A Posteriori Knowledge
A priori: It refers to knowledge that is independent of experience, stemming from reason alone. Examples include the forms of intuition (space and time), concepts of theoretical reason, and the moral law of practical reason. A priori knowledge is characterized by universality and necessity.
A posteriori: It refers to knowledge derived from empirical experience. Empirical intuitions are singular and contingent, meaning they depend on specific experiences.
Empirical Experience
Empirical Experience: In a broad sense, it refers to objective knowledge. In science, it’s objective experience. In another sense, it refers to the subjective component of experience, a feeling or empirical intuition (empiricism), which is a posteriori. Experience can also refer to the conditions, concepts, and principles that make objective experience possible.
Imperative
Imperative: It is the formula of a mandate of reason. A mandate is the representation of an objective principle that is constrictive for the will. Imperatives determine action. They are expressed as “should” and represent an objective law of reason that the will doesn’t necessarily follow. An imperative can be *categorical* (unconditional) or *hypothetical* (conditional on a desired end).
Interest
Interest: Each faculty of the mind has an associated interest. Interest means that each faculty is inherently directed towards a specific goal. It’s the condition that favors the exercise of the corresponding faculty. Interest can be *empirical* (related to inclinations and happiness, subjective and sensible) or *pure*. Pure interest of reason can be speculative (theoretical) or practical. Speculative interest concerns a priori principles. Practical interest concerns the determination of the will with respect to the ultimate goal. All interest is ultimately practical.
Law
Law: Principles that govern nature and make knowledge possible. Nature is formally governed by a priori, universal, and necessary laws related to the understanding. Moral law is a priori, contains nothing empirical, involves absolute necessity, and is the basis for obligation.
Practical Reason
Practical: Everything that is possible through freedom. It concerns the faculty of desire and pure will. Practical reason deals not with knowing objects but with realizing them. It’s related to what *should be*, not what *is*, and is closely linked to duty and morality. Practical use establishes the fundamental determinants of the will: the moral law. A *pure* and *a priori* practical law differs from pragmatic laws, which are aimed at achieving sensory satisfaction and establishing means to that end.
Pure Knowledge
Pure: A representation or knowledge that contains no sensation, or is not mixed with it. In this precise sense, *pure* is the same as *a priori*. However, not every a priori concept, proposition, or knowledge is necessarily pure.