Innatism Flashcards
What is innatism?
An epistemological position which says knowledge of ideas are in some way built into the structure of the mind, rather than gained from sense experience.
We are born with at least some knowledge in our mind- we go through a process of ‘unlocking’ this information when we learn it
What is Plato’s slave boy example?
Plato argues learning is a form of recalling knowledge from before we are born (past lives)
Meno’s slave is a boy who has never been taught geometry
- Socrates draws a 2x2 feet square on the ground
- Meno’s slave agrees the area is 4 squared feet
- Socrates draws another square on the ground with area of 8 squared feet
- He then asks what is the length of the sides?
- Meno’s slave incorrectly guesses 4 feet initially (area would be 16 squared feet)
- Socrates asks Meno’s slave a series of questions
- Meno’s slave answers questions correctly and realises that the sides of a square with an area of 8 squared feet would be equal to the diagonal of the original 2x2 square
The slave had never learnt geometry before but could answer the questions - Innate knowledge
What is Leibniz’s argument for innate ideas?
Senses can only reveal individual instances, not confirm general truths
P1. Senses can only give us particular instances
P2. A collection of instances can never show the necessity of a truth
P3. We can grasp and prove many necessary truths (such as mathematics)
C1. Therefore the necessary truths we grasp with our minds must not come with our senses
C2. The mind is the source of these necessary truths
C3. These ideas are known innately
E.g we know it must always be true that 2+2 =4 - it is a necessary truth. Experience only tells us how something is not how it must be
Descartes on innate ideas?
Believed ideas about God, his own existence, the concepts of the mind and logical principles e.g nothing comes from nothing are all innate ideas
Innate ideas are held in the mind and are ready to be found via reason - like written words in a book are waiting to be read
Believes innate knowledge comes from God
Leibniz on innate ideas?
- We are like blocks of marble - marble is veined in a certain way that when struck with a chisel it can be shaped a certain way
- Marble is not a fully formed statue but has a tendency or inclination to end up looking a certain way
- We do not have ideas already in us but our minds are structured in suck a way that certain ideas will emerge when prompted by senses
What is Locke’s argument against innate ideas
Universal consent
Universal consent -The argument that there are some things we all believe in so they must be innate.
P1. Any innate idea, x, if it exists would be universally held
P2. Children and idiots do not have the idea of x
P3. The notion of a person having an innate idea, x, and not being aware of it does’t make sense
C1. Therefore X is not universally held
C2. So x is not innate
Locke argued that that there are no universal ideas so there are no innate ideas
Response to Locke’s universal consent argument against innate ideas?
Leibniz agrees with Lock that innate knowledge requires innate concepts but argues it is possible to have these concepts and not be conscious of them
- Obviously a newborn can’t articulate concepts such as identity e.g a=a but that doesn’t mean the concept isn’t there
- We innately know theses concepts -even if we can’t articulate them- and they are essential to all thought whether we consciously recognise them or not
- Over time we learn to recognise these concepts and make them explicit but they were always in the mind.
How does Locke reject the idea of innate concepts?
Propositional knowledge relies on concepts e.g you can’t know 1+1 = 2 without having the concepts of 1, + and 2
-If Locke can disprove innate concepts he can disprove innate ideas
Gave examples
- Observation of newborn babies suggest they do not have concepts beyond those experienced in the womb(e.g concepts of warmth or pain)
- God is often used as an example of an innate concept but babies do not have the this concept of God and there have been many atheist societies without the concept of God.
What are concepts?
Having a concept of something enables us to recognise it, distinguish it from other things and think about it.
What is sense impressions /sense data
The colours, noises, sounds, tastes and smells you are aware of when perceiving the world
Simple vs Complex ideas
For empiricists simple ideas ultimately come from simple impressions
Complex ideas can be broken down to simple ideas, then traced back to simple expressions
Hume:
- inwards impressions(feelings) and outward impressions(e.g seeing a tree)
- Not all impressions are necessary sense impressions e.g you can’t know sadness until you feel it
Tabula Rasa thesis is saying all of our ideas or concepts are derived from simple impressions so there cannot be anything in the mind that doesn’t originate from impressions
What is the tabula rasa?
-Latin for ‘blank slate’. This is an epistemological theory which argues all of our ideas must come from experience as the humane mind is a blank slate at birth
- A newborn baby doesn’t know colours, sounds, tastes or smells except what is experienced before birth
- But it learns to recognise faces where to find milk, what food it likes ect.
- All things we consider basic about the world were at some point new and exciting discoveries to us.
Ockhams Razor:
Argues should go with theory with least assumptions (simplest)
-It could be the case that:
a) We are born with innate ideas of each colour
-But it is definitely the case that:
b) We see colours with our eyes
So why would God bother with a given that b
a adds no extra explanatory power
Leibniz response to God not being an innate idea?
- Just because some societies may lack word for ‘God’ doesn’t mean they lack the concept
- It may take experience to consciously become aware of God but concept itself can’t come from experience because it goes beyond experience
e. g Concept of God is concept of an infinite being but nothing in experience shows us concept of infinity
Locke’s clash 2 -Transparency of ideas
- Any innate idea would be perceived by the mind -our minds are transparent and are able to perceive all the ideas they contain
- This doesn’t mean that we are aware of them all at the same time - but if an idea is in your mind you will have tough about it or been conscious of it at some point
What is Locke’s 3rd clash - How can we distinguish innate ideas from other ideas?
innatism argues innate ideas are in us, perhaps in a capacity which we are unaware of but can become active later in life given the right stimulus
Locke - This could theoretically apply to any idea, how do we know which ones are innate?
