Reason as a source of Knowledge: Innatism

Plato and the argument from universals

-the senses can only reveal particular instances

-the mind can grasp perfect, universal concepts

-these perfect universal concepts cannot be derived from the senses

-these concepts must be innate within us

Plato: what ideas are innate?

mathematical truths and abstract concepts

Plato: how are innate ideas in the mind?

exist in us like a forgotten/hazy memory, they are accessed through a process of reasoning

Plato: what is the evidence/arguments for innatism?

-Meno's slave boy (we can grasp eternal truths of which we have no prior experience)

-Universals (we can clearly grasp universal truths and abstract concepts, despite the fact we only ever experience imperfect instances of these things

Plato: problems with his innatism?

-confusing memory and reason

-we do not clearly grasp the things that Plato claims we do

-the theory relies on the non-natural

Leibniz: mind at birth

Leibniz believes that are minds are like veined blocks of marble because it marks out the shape of something specific over any other shape and the shape is perfected by experience and reasoning

Leibniz: what ideas are innate?

-truth of mathematics

-logical principles such as the law of non-contradiction

-concepts derived from our awareness of self

-the concept of identity

Leibniz: how are innate ideas in the mind?

they are not held as fully formed ideas at birth but as inclinations and tendancies to think. With sufficient and careful attention, we can reveal these innate principles with reason

Arguments against innatism: lack of universal consent

-Locke argues that there are no universally held ideas

-by denying any idea is universally held, Locke aims to prove that there are no innate ideas

-children and idiots lack certain ideas so they cannot be universal

Arguments against innatism: the transparency of the mind

-the possibility of having an innate idea but not being aware of it doesn't make sense. You have to think about something to be aware of it and it doesn't make sense to ay you're aware of something you can't think about

Arguments against innatism: difficulty distinguishing innate ideas from non-innate ideas

-some innatists argue that an idea can be 'in' you but you can be unaware of it and it only becomes active later in life

-Locke rejects this because if we have innate ideas but they only become active later in life how can we tell which are innate and which come from experience

how do empiricists understand the relationship between impressions and ideas?

impressions enter with the most force and violence. Ideas are the faint images of the others that the mind uses in thinking and reasoning. The difference is the degrees of force and liveliness with which they strike upon the mind and make their way into out thoughts/conciousness