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Single Idea 3342

[from 'Critique of Pure Reason' by Immanuel Kant, in 12. Knowledge Sources / A. A Priori Knowledge / 5. A Priori Synthetic ]

Full Idea

Kant took Euclidean geometry to be an obvious source of synthetic a prior truths, as one can just see that through a point outside a straight line one and only one parallel to it can be drawn.

Gist of Idea

Seeing that only one parallel can be drawn to a line through a given point is clearly synthetic a priori

Source

report of Immanuel Kant (Critique of Pure Reason [1781]) by José A. Benardete - Metaphysics: the logical approach Ch.18

Book Reference

Benardete,José A.: 'Metaphysics: The Logical Approach' [OUP 1989], p.131