The apodictic turns out to be true or valid unconditionally.
Apodictic is that which is valid or true in a demonstrable and unconditional way . The concept, which is used in the field of philosophy , came to our language from the Latin apodictĭcus , in turn derived from the Greek apodeiktikós .
With respect to its etymology , it can be added that it is composed of the prefix apo- ( "far, outside, apart" ), the verb deiknumai (which can be translated as "indicate or show" ) and the suffix -tico (which in this case provides the meaning of "relating to" ). A possible interpretation of this fusion of components is that the apodictic stands out and can be separated from its environment because it is something undeniable.
The concept
The notion of apodictic appears frequently in Aristotelian logic , as the doctrine developed from the works of Aristotle is known. For this prominent philosopher of Ancient Greece , a proposition is apodictic when it is evidently valid or necessarily invalid . Thus, he differentiates these expressions from assertive propositions (which are used to assert whether a thing is or is not) and from problematic propositions (they reflect the possibility that a thing is true).
Apodictic, on the other hand, can be an argumentative style that an individual develops when he expresses a judgment as a categorical truth, even though it is not necessary to do so.
The concept of apodictic usually appears in Aristotelian logic.
Example of apodictic
We can understand the differences between these types of proposition through examples. The statement "Four plus three equals seven" is apodictic: it is necessarily valid. It does not tolerate a contradiction since "four plus three" will always be "equals seven." Within the framework of logic, there is no possibility of discussing the validity of the statement since it carries a necessary truth and is self-evident.
On the other hand, a phrase like "Everest is higher than Aconcagua" is assertoric because it simply states that something "is." A problematic proposition, on the other hand, is "A family can have more members than a town" : it indicates a possibility .
The dialectic
Aristotelian logic also includes the concept of dialectic , as opposed to apodictic, just as something reasonable or probable is opposed to scientific proof. We understand dialectics as the technique of conversation , and this same meaning has a branch of philosophy that has had great development in history.
Initially, it was a method of argument similar to what we call logic today. Throughout the 18th century , this word received a new meaning, since it began to be defined as "the theory of opposites in concepts or things, as well as the identification and overcoming of them." From a more schematic point of view, it is possible to define dialectic as that discourse in which a given tradition or conception is opposed (giving rise to a thesis ), and the exposition of contradictions and problems (an antithesis ).
Kant and the apodictic judgment
The Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant published a work titled "Critique of Pure Reason" in 1781 , the most important of his career and with a second edition six years later, in which he makes a clear distinction between assertive, problematic and apodictic. Firstly, he points out that the modality of a trial does not contribute anything to its content; This is a very particular function of these in which the relationship, quality and quantity weigh more.
Regarding problematic judgments, Kant defines them as those that do not carry the obligation to affirm or deny. The assertoric, for their part, are the judgments in which it is considered real or true. Finally, there are the apodictics, whose definition coincides with that set forth in the previous paragraphs.