a priori

adj.

1. Proceeding from a known or assumed cause to a necessarily related effect; deductive.
2. 1. Derived by or designating the process of reasoning without reference to particular facts or experience.
   2. Knowable without appeal to particular experience.
3. Made before or without examination; not supported by factual study.

[Medieval Latin ā priōrī : Latin ā, from + Latin priōrī, ablative of prior, former.]

apriori a' pri·o'ri adv.
apriority a' pri·or'i·ty (-ôr'ĭ-tē, -ŏr'-) n.

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[Latin, From the cause to the ef- fect.]

This phrase refers to a type of reasoning that examines given general principles to discover what particular facts or real-life observations can be derived from them. Another name for this method is deductive reasoning.

From what goes before; from cause to effect.

IN BRIEF: Based on theory rather than observation.

Logical propositions are such as can be known a priori without study of the actual world. — Bertrand Russell

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