Analytic statements are

those that are true (or false) in virtue of the way

the ideas or meanings in them fit together. A

standard example is “No bachelor is married.”

This is true simply in virtue of the meanings of

the words. “No bachelor is happy,” on the other

hand, is synthetic. It isn’t true or false just in

virtue of the meanings of the words. It is true or

false in virtue of the experiences of bachelors, and

these can’t be determined just by thinking about

the meanings of the words.

The analytic/synthetic distinction is closely related

to the necessary–contingent distinction and

the a priori–a posteriori distinction; indeed, these

three distinctions are often confused with one another.

But they are not the same. The last one has

to do with knowledge, the middle one with possibility,

and the first one with meaning. Although

some philosophers think that the three distinctions

amount to the same thing, others do not.

Kant maintains that truths of arithmetic are a

priori and necessary but not analytic. Kripke

maintains that some identity statements are necessary,

but not analytic or a priori.