a posteriori

Definition

Involving induction of theories from facts.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā posteriōrī (“involving reasoning from effect to cause, from experience to theory”, literally “from what follows”). Popularized from the 19th century in reference to the work of Immanuel Kant.

Example Sentences

• "What Locke calls "knowledge" they have called "a priori knowledge"; what he calls "opinion" or "belief" they have called "a posteriori" or "empirical knowledge"."