--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any necessary truth, whether a priori or…" description: "\"Any necessary truth, whether a priori or a posteriori, could not have turned out otherwise\" — Saul Kripke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/saul-kripke-38483_necessary_any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or_3209085.jpg" --- # Any necessary truth, whether a priori or a posteriori… ![“Any necessary truth, whether a priori or a posteriori, could not have turned out otherwise” quote by Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/saul-kripke-38483_necessary_any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or_3209085.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/saul-kripke-38483_necessary_any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or_3209085.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/saul-kripke-38483_necessary_any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or_3209085.jpg) > “Any necessary truth, whether a priori or a posteriori, could not have turned out otherwise” [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote asserts that truths, whether known independently of experience or derived from it, are necessarily true and could not be otherwise. **In simple terms:** Necessary truths cannot be otherwise. Key Takeaway Recognize the inevitability of logical truths. Themes philosophy logic necessity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - formal reasoning - teaching philosophy Key Concepts analytic philosophy modal logic Questions to Reflect On - How do we distinguish necessary from contingent truths? - Can necessity be empirically verified? A Different Perspective Some truths may be contingent in practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [It becomes more necessary to see the truth as it is if you realize that the only vehicle for change are these people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/it-becomes-more-necessary-to-see-the-truth-as-it-is-if-you-realize/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [All necessary truth is its own evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-necessary-truth-is-its-own-evidence/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Absolutely anything is Necessary is a part of this dream, just as non-Knowledge is the Absolute Truth of Knowledge, which we will never find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/absolutely-anything-is-necessary-is-a-part-of-this-dream-just-as-non/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [There is nothing more necessary than truth, and in comparison with it everything else has only secondary value. 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(It seems odd, doesn't it, that we have to lie to tell the truth better?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/hyperbole-is-sometimes-necessary-to-get-at-the-truth-it-seems-odd/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [“No matter how many times you get turned around,you will still find yourself going in the right direction \*B\*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-easley/no-matter-how-many-times-you-get-turned-around-you-will-still-find/) [B. Easley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-easley/) > [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [I wanted to start playing as soon as I turned 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-osimhen/i-wanted-to-start-playing-as-soon-as-i-turned-18/) [Victor Osimhen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-osimhen/) ## More by Saul Kripke > [I wish I could have skipped college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/i-wish-i-could-have-skipped-college/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [Proper names are rigid designators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/proper-names-are-rigid-designators/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [Certainly the philosopher of 'possible worlds' must take care that his technical apparatus not push him to ask questions whose meaningfulness is not supported…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/certainly-the-philosopher-of-possible-worlds-must-take-care-that-his/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [I want to read philosophers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/i-want-to-read-philosophers/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [Logical investigations can obviously be a useful tool for philosophy. They must, however, be informed by a sensitivity to the philosophical significance of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/logical-investigations-can-obviously-be-a-useful-tool-for-philosophy/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [I am somewhat uncertain whether there is a definite factual question as to whether natural language handles truth-value gaps. Nor am I even quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/i-am-somewhat-uncertain-whether-there-is-a-definite-factual-question/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [I just hate sitting and writing - I had to do that in school. Plus, I have terrible handwriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/i-just-hate-sitting-and-writing-i-had-to-do-that-in-school-plus-i/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [In fact, of course, I hold that propositions that contemporary philosophers would properly count as 'empirical' can be necessary and be known to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/in-fact-of-course-i-hold-that-propositions-that-contemporary/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [Let's call something a rigid designator if in every possible world it designates the same object, a non-rigid or accidental designator if that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/let-s-call-something-a-rigid-designator-if-in-every-possible-world-it/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) > [For a sensation to be felt as pain is for it to be pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/for-a-sensation-to-be-felt-as-pain-is-for-it-to-be-pain/) [Saul Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) [Explore all 11 Saul Kripke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/) ## More Necessary quotes > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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I can make the unpopular but necessary decision. Your focus from day one is on your legacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benigno-aquino-iii/i-am-not-concerned-about-getting-reelected-i-can-make-the-unpopular/) [Benigno Aquino III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benigno-aquino-iii/) > [I'm not going to marry a third time. It is just not necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robinson/i-m-not-going-to-marry-a-third-time-it-is-just-not-necessary/) [Anne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robinson/) > [What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-seems-so-necessary-today-may-not-even-be-desirable-tomorrow/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Art is not necessary at all. All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live in is to love -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/art-is-not-necessary-at-all-all-that-is-necessary-to-make-this-world/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [While sleep is clearly vital to emotional well-being, what is it, exactly, about sleep that is so necessary? As it turns out, mood disorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/while-sleep-is-clearly-vital-to-emotional-well-being-what-is-it/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [If there is a risk in a bank, our first question should be 'Okay, what are you in the bank going to do about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeroen-dijsselbloem/if-there-is-a-risk-in-a-bank-our-first-question-should-be-okay-what/) [Jeroen Dijsselbloem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeroen-dijsselbloem/) Browse all 1,020 Necessary quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any necessary truth, whether a priori or a posteriori, could not have turned out otherwise", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saul Kripke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or-a-posteriori-could-not-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Necessary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or-a-posteriori-could-not-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/saul-kripke-38483_necessary_any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or_3209085.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/saul-kripke-38483_necessary_any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or_3209085.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/017/saul-kripke-38483_necessary_any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or_3209085.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any necessary truth, whether a priori or a posteriori, could not have turned out otherwise” — Saul Kripke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Saul Kripke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-kripke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Any necessary truth, whether a priori...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or-a-posteriori-could-not-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-kripke/any-necessary-truth-whether-a-priori-or-a-posteriori-could-not-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```