A statement that can be either analytic or synthetic?

Question

A statement is analytic if it is true by definition:
All bachelors are unmarried.

A statement is synthetic if it is true only by experience:
All bachelors are wild.

Apparently many philosophers think all statements can be easily put into one of the categories, but others believe that it is indeterminate. I believe it is indeterminate as well, but can't think of any actual examples, heh.

So anyone know any examples or wanna give it a try?

Answer 1

If you haven't already, I recommend looking into some of the works of Quine, who seems to believe rather the same as you.

To use your example, Quine might say, "How do we KNOW that all bachelors are unmarried?". Do you look in a dictionary? Do you learn the meaning of 'bachelor' by conversing with other people? Do you deduce the meanings by seeing the words in use? All of these things are EXPERIENCES.

And that would be (one of) Quine's primary points. Since babies are born knowing pretty much nothing, anything we know - including so-called distinctions between analytic and synthetic - is not necessarily real.

What we think of as definitionally true is almost always just definitionally true by social convention. Nor is it particularly difficult to imagine societies where bachelors are married to their mothers until they find some other spouse (though one can only imagine what Freud might have to say about such a place) or some other such quirk in the system.

Answer 2

Kant believed that mathematical statements were examples. Twelve + two equals 14. It does not seem obvious that one would have the experience of 12 sheep and then the experience of two sheep and have this be 14 sheep by experience alone. One would need the analytics of addition. Also, every event has a cause is a statement I certainly think is true, but it cannot be synthetic. Just ask David Hume.

Answer 3

By experience I find life is problematic at times. Life is simple, man makes it complicated.