one of Kant's four main perspectives, aiming to establish a kind of knowledge which is both analytic and a posteriori (though Kant himself wrongly identified it as synthetic and a priori). Most metaphysical knowledge is properly viewed from this perspective, instead of from the speculative perspective of traditional metaphysics. 'There is a God' is a typical hypothetical statement. (Cf. logical).
Characterized by, or of the nature of, an hypothesis; conditional; assumed without proof, for the purpose of reasoning and deducing proof, or of accounting for some fact or phenomenon.
imaginary; Sometimes we picture an imaginary situation in our mind to help us consider several possible consequences of an idea or action. This is especially useful in planning and problem-solving. 19