armchair reasoning
noun phrase

- reasoning that is developed independent of first-hand experience

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WORD ORIGIN

German philosopher Immanuel Kant stated "although all our knowledge begins with experience, it does not follow that it arises from experience." In other words, Kant believed that humans possessed two kinds of knowledge or reasoning; one type that depends on first-hand experience and one that is independent of direct experience.

In the field of philosophy, this is referred to as "a posteriori" (Latin meaning literally "after experience") and "a priori" (Latin meaning literally "before experience"). Armchair reasoning is a modern day version of "a priori." The 21st century British philosopher Galen Strawson put it this way: "An a priori argument is one that you can see is true by just lying on your couch. You don't have to get up off your couch and go outside and examine the way things are in the physical world. You don't have to do any science."

Replace the couch with an armchair and we have the phrase armchair reasoning, meaning knowledge or opinions that are not based on direct experience. When used as an adjective, armchair can also refer to someone who has superficial knowledge of something:

armchair architect - a person who claims to speak authoritatively about or plays about in architecture but who is not a professional architect (Note: Charles, Prince of Wales is considered by some to be an armchair architect.)

armchair liberal - a person with liberal ideals who does not put them into practice

armchair quarterback - somebody who is certain that he or she has better judgement than the coaches or players while watching a competitive sport on television


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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:

"Much of what you read in the newspapers about the economic crisis is armchair reasoning."