Innatism
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Innatism is a philosophical doctrine introduced by Plato in the socratic dialogue Meno which holds that the mind is born with ideas/knowledge, and that therefore the mind is not a tabula rasa at birth. It asserts therefore that not all knowledge is obtained from experience and the senses. Innatism is the opposite of empiricism.
Plato claimed that humans are born with ideas/forms in the mind that are in a dormant state. He claimed that we have acquired these ideas prior to our birth when we existed as souls in the world of Forms. To access these, humans need to be reminded of them through proper education and experience.
Types of innatism
The philosophy of innatism is sometimes divided into two areas:
- Knowledge innatism - this doctrine asserts that humans have access to knowledge that is possessed innately.
- Idea innatism - also known as concept innatism, this doctrine asserts that humans have access to certain inborn ideas.
- Knowledge innatism seems to entail idea innatism.
- Idea innatism does not necessary entail knowledge innatism.
The difference between innatism and nativism
In general usage the terms innatism and nativism are synonymous as they both refer to notions of preexisting ideas present in the mind. However, more correctly innatism refers to the philosophy of Plato and Descartes who assumed that innate ideas and principles are placed in the human mind by a God or an equivalent being or process.
Nativism represents an adaption of this, grounded in the fields of genetics, cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics. Nativists hold that innate beliefs are in some way genetically programmed to arise in our mind, that is to say that innate beliefs are the phenotypes of certain genotypes that all humans have in common.
Nativism
Nativism is a modern view rooted in innatism. The advocates of nativism are mainly philosophers who also work in the field of cognitive psychology or psycholinguistics: most notably Noam Chomsky and Jerry Fodor (although the latter has adopted a more critical attitude towards nativism in his later writings). The nativist’s general objection against empiricism is still the same as was raised by the rationalists: the human mind of a newborn child is no tabula rasa at all, but equipped with an internal structure.
Examples of proposed innate knowledge
Innatism is invoked to explain how we can have knowledge of certain propositions that seem to go beyond experience, either (i) because of its universal applicability, or because (ii) its subject matter transcends experiential reality. Examples of the notions include:
- Ethical truths
- The notion of causality, that all events have a cause
- Notions of good and evil
- Logical and mathematical truths
- Metaphysical notions concerning transcendent objects like god, the soul
- Hazards (such as heights)
Locke's attack on innatism
References
- Ridling, Zaine (2001). "Philosophy: Then and Now A look back at 26 centuries of thought." Types and Expressions of Rationalism, pp. 514-515. Access Foundation.
- Unger, Wolfgang. "Nativism in the Light of Locke’s Critique on Innate Principles." Term Paper in Phil 702, Locke’s Essay. Department of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.[link]
- [University of California Santa Barbara, Department of Philosophy: PowerPoint: Locke's attack on innatism]
See also
External links
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