- analytic proposition: a proposition whose predicate concept is contained in its subject concept
- synthetic proposition: a proposition whose predicate concept is not contained in its subject concept but related
Example Analytical Propositions
- “All bachelors are unmarried.”
- “All triangles have three sides.”
Each of these statements is an affirmative subject-predicate judgment, and, in each, the predicate concept is contained within the subject concept. The concept “bachelor” contains the concept “unmarried”; the concept “unmarried” is part of the definition of the concept “bachelor”. Likewise, for “triangle” and “has three sides”, and so on.
Example Synthetic Propositions
- “All bachelors are alone.”
- “All creatures with hearts have kidneys.”
Each of these statements is an affirmative subject–predicate judgment. However, in none of these cases does the subject concept contain the predicate concept. The concept “bachelor” does not contain the concept “alone”; “alone” is not a part of the definition of “bachelor”. The same is true for “creatures with hearts” and “have kidneys”; even if every creature with a heart also has kidneys, the concept “creature with a heart” does not contain the concept “has kidneys”.
More Information
TODO - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytic%E2%80%93synthetic_distinction#Kant