Knowing the Difference Between Contingent vs. Necessary Truths

close up of cat's claw

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By
Austin Cline
Austin Cline
Atheism Expert
  • M.A., Princeton University
  • B.A., University of Pennsylvania
Austin Cline, a former regional director for the Council for Secular Humanism, writes and lectures extensively about atheism and agnosticism.
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Updated on February 24, 2019

The distinction between contingent and necessary statements is one of the oldest in philosophy. Truth is necessary if denying it would entail a contradiction. A truth is contingent, however, if it happens to be true but could have been false.

Example

Cats are mammals.
Cats are reptiles.
Cats have claws.

The first statement is a necessary truth because denying it, as with the second statement, results in a contradiction. Cats are, by definition, mammals, so saying that they are reptiles is a contradiction. The third statement is a contingent truth because it is possible that cats could have evolved without claws.

This is similar to the distinction between essential and accidental qualities. Being a mammal is part of a cat's essence, but having claws is an accident.

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Cline, Austin. "Knowing the Difference Between Contingent vs. Necessary Truths." Learn Religions, Sep. 16, 2021, learnreligions.com/contingent-vs-necessary-truths-4079977. Cline, Austin. (2021, September 16). Knowing the Difference Between Contingent vs. Necessary Truths. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/contingent-vs-necessary-truths-4079977 Cline, Austin. "Knowing the Difference Between Contingent vs. Necessary Truths." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/contingent-vs-necessary-truths-4079977 (accessed March 21, 2023).