innatism essay plan

innatism

epistemological theory that from birth, our minds contain certain concepts and knowledge, that are called innate ideas

WEAK CLAIM - all synthetic and a priori knowledge is in us from birth

Reason, not senses

Substantial and not just true by definition

Leibniz: all a priori are necessary and innate

Minds rely on, even if unaware eg ‘It is impossible for the same thing to be and not to be’

Work out from minds, there all along

STRONG criticism – not universal ideas

Locke: not everyone shares ideas

‘children and idiots’ do not know of infinity or 2 + 3 = 5

WEAK rebuild – would know it

If used reason to work it it

If innate, why discover?

WEAK CLAIM - Plato: mathematical knowledge is innate

Learning is just remembering what we already have knowledge of

Socrates’ Meno slave boy, geometrical theory, from mind

FATAL criticism - know from experience, not reason

Sense experience of shapes

2 + 3 = 5 know 2 and three things

all is a posteriori

WEAKEST criticism – empiricists attacking innatist universals

Innatists: could not understand universals eg ‘beauty’ from experience bc no infinite number of sense impressions

Form idea of large number without seeing that many

CONCLUSION

not in us from birth or universal

maths is sense experience

universals can be known through sense impressions