Term used by Hume in the first Enquiry for a priori knowledge: ‘All the objects of human reason or enquiry may naturally be divided into two kinds, to wit, Relations of Ideas, and Matters of Fact ’ (Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, iv). The term reflects the belief that anything that can be known a priori must be internal to the mind, and hence transparent to us. See also demonstration, matter of fact.
Philosophy dictionary. Academic. 2011.