C2 · 43 words

Philosophy: the craft of argument

Grounding, distinguishing and refuting — the working vocabulary of a German philosophy seminar.

Most German adjectives in -iell map neatly onto English ones in « -al »: offiziell is « official », potenziell « potential », essenziell « essential ». Prinzipiell breaks the pattern. It does not mean « principal » — the main or chief thing is hauptsächlich, or a compound with Haupt- — and it does not mean « principled » either: a person who sticks to their principles is prinzipientreu or grundsatztreu. Prinzipiell means « in principle » and « on principle », and it carries both moods of the English phrases. Prinzipiell dagegen is against it on principle, with no exceptions. Prinzipiell möglich concedes a possibility while hinting that nobody expects it to happen. In an argument the second use is the one to listen for: a German colleague who answers prinzipiell ja has usually just announced a « but ».

The words

Verb (3)

explizierento explicate, to spell outVerbC2

Carnap wollte vage Alltagsbegriffe explizieren, nicht bloß umbenennen.Carnap wanted to explicate vague everyday concepts, not merely rename them.

Noun: die Explikation.

zugrunde legento take as a basisVerbC1

Man muss dem Argument einen engeren Wissensbegriff zugrunde legen.The argument has to rest on a narrower concept of knowledge.

Separable: legt … zugrunde. Takes a dative and an accusative: einer Sache etwas zugrunde legen.

postulierento postulateVerbC2

Wer eine zweite Substanz postuliert, muss sagen, wie sie auf die erste wirkt.Anyone who postulates a second substance has to say how it acts on the first.

Adverb (2)

a prioriindependently of experienceAdverbC2

Dass jeder Junggeselle unverheiratet ist, weiß man a priori.That every bachelor is unmarried is known a priori.

Indeclinable; stands after the noun or as an adverb: Urteile a priori.

a posteriorion the basis of experienceAdverbC2

Ob Wasser auf Meereshöhe bei hundert Grad siedet, lässt sich nur a posteriori feststellen.Whether water boils at a hundred degrees at sea level can only be established a posteriori.

Indeclinable, like a priori.

This list belongs to Thinking and arguing — eight lists and 353 words that can also be practised as a whole.

Practise this list

Multiple choice and gaps, drawn from exactly these 43 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.