01 - Establishing claims, Plato, modern innatism

what do empiricists believe

all knowledge starts with the senses

for empiricists, what is knowledge (use hume’s fork)

matters of fact, a posteriori

what do rationalists believe

we have some a priori knowledge from rational insight and reason

for rationalists, what kind of knowledge could we have (hume’s fork)

synthetic, a priori

what is the debate between rationalists and empricists

whether we could have a priori knowledge of synthetic propositions

what is innate knowledge

knowledge not gained from experience, but somehow part of the inbuilt structure of the mind

what did plato argue in anemnesis

soul comes from the wolrd of forms, all knowledge is internal and recollection

example plato uses to demonstrate innatism

slave boy learning geometry via questioning

how could we object to the slave boy’s knowledge being innate

this is just a psychological process of using reflective experience to gain knowledge

what sort of innate knowledge does peter carruthers highlight

genetically determined developments in cognitive capacities

example of a genetically encoded capacity - could the same be true for knowledge

cant see further than 8 inches when born but this quickly develops

way in which knowledge could also be genetically determined

at a certain point, children start to think in a certain way (e.g. things existing unseen) but its not experience that causes this

what did chomsky argue was a universal innate knowledge

knowledge of grammar

the discovery of which tribe challenged chomsky’s claim that grammar knowledge is innate

piraha tribe