Kant's Usage

In the philosophy of Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....

, analytic reasoning represents judgments made upon statements that are based on the virtue of the statement's own content. No particular experience, beyond an understanding of the meanings of words used, is necessary for analytic reasoning.

For example, "John is a bachelor." is a given true statement. Through analytic reasoning, one can make the judgment that John is unmarried. One knows this to be true since the state of being unmarried is implied in the word bachelor; no particular experience of John is necessary to make this judgement.

To suggest that John is married—given that he is a bachelor—would be self-contradictory.

Compare analytic reasoning with synthetic reasoning.