According to the context in which it is used, the word postulate can refer various questions.
Proposition that is presented as the basis of a reasoning or a demonstration and whose truth is admitted without any evidence in this regard
A postulate will be that proposition that is offered or presented as the pillar or basis of a reasoning or a demonstration and whose truth is admitted without any evidence in this regard.
This acceptance with eyes closed and without the need to see proofs or demonstrations is related to the fact that there is no other principle that allows us to deduce or anticipate this proposition.
Then, the postulate is considered an expression that will present truth even if it is not accompanied by evidence or proof that allows us to see what is affirmed in a concrete and real way.
Application in philosophy to understand important questions
Philosophy is a context that uses this concept a lot because it will be the postulates that allow this discipline to develop logical judgments, that is, the postulate must be admitted because it will allow us to understand some question
As a consequence of this that we commented is that the concept has been very present in this matter since very remote times and has been approached by the greatest philosophers, such is the case of Aristotle, who, for example, already in Ancient Greece, established the difference that exists between postulates and axioms (clear propositions that do not need a proof). Because basically the postulates lack the universal element that the axioms do.
Common forms of the postulate
Meanwhile, a postulate at the time of reasoning can have three forms.
On the one hand, that proposition that is taken as the basis when formulating a reasoning or a demonstration and whose truth is admitted and accepted by all without the need to present evidence is known as a postulate.
Or as a starting point when proving some theorem that is within an axiomatic system.
On the other hand, the term can adopt the type of a speculation, which even having the appearance of being evident is admitted as false without the need to submit it to verification.
And finally it can be the reasoned opinion that will be part of a theory.
Idea or principle that a person, organization will defend
Another recurring use that is also given to the term, especially within the context of politics, is the of idea or principle to be defended at all costs, almost tooth and nail. As I mentioned, this is something extremely common in politics because generally each representative of a party tends to defend the postulates that are part of the political program that supports the group to which they belong.
This sense is also used at the request of religion to refer to those ideas or principles that a specific religious belief supports and that will be defended because they precisely constitute its basis.
In religion, especially, in recent years, where certain and notable changes have occurred in society and in social relationships, the church, to name one of the most traditional institutions, has been able to accept this situation and then the revision has been proposed. of some postulates.
People per se and individually can hold certain postulates or principles that are the ones that will ultimately allow us to recognize their way of thinking. Meanwhile, it will be precisely these principles that sustain those that will guide their life, their behaviors and also their decisions.
Exact sciences such as mathematics and geometry use the postulates in theories and they are accepted by convention, by agreement.
