Kripke's necessary a posteriori truths demonstrate that necessary connections between kinds are discovered empirically, not legislated by our theories, so a theory's commitments cannot be read off from necessities unknown to its formulators.

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Kripke: Kripke refers to Saul Kripke, an influential American philosopher and logician known for revolutionizing how we think about names, meaning, and possibility. He argued that names like "Albert Einstein" refer directly to the actual person rather than through descriptions of their properties, which changed philosophy fundamentally. His work also introduced "possible worlds" as a way to understand concepts like necessity and possibility, making him one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century.
Legislated by our theories(contrasting with genuine discovery): When a theory simply defines or creates rules, rather than discovering something that was already true in reality.
Necessary a posteriori truths(Kripke's example of truths that show conceivability can mislead us about what's really possible): Facts that are definitely, absolutely true about how reality works, but can only be discovered through experience or observation rather than pure thinking.
Necessary connections(as used in logic and metaphysics)

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