The Analytic/Synthetic Distinction
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[Revised entry by Georges Rey on June 1, 2026.
Changes to: Main text, Bibliography, analyticity-chomsky.html, notes.html]
"Analytic" sentences, such as "Pediatricians are doctors," have historically been characterized as ones that are true by virtue of the meanings of their words alone and/or can be known to be so solely by knowing those meanings. They are contrasted with more usual "synthetic" sentences, such as "Pediatricians are rich," (knowledge of) whose truth depends also upon (knowledge
Changes to: Main text, Bibliography, analyticity-chomsky.html, notes.html]
"Analytic" sentences, such as "Pediatricians are doctors," have historically been characterized as ones that are true by virtue of the meanings of their words alone and/or can be known to be so solely by knowing those meanings. They are contrasted with more usual "synthetic" sentences, such as "Pediatricians are rich," (knowledge of) whose truth depends also upon (knowledge
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