Innatism Facts for Kids

In epistemology, innatism is the idea that our mind is born with some ideas, knowledge, or beliefs already in place. It's like having some apps pre-installed on a new phone.

The opposite idea is called empiricism. This view says that our mind is a tabula rasa (a blank slate) when we are born. It means we learn everything we know from our experiences and what we see, hear, and feel through our senses.

What is Innatism?
Famous Thinkers and Their Ideas
Modern Ideas About Innatism
- Language and Innatism
See also

What is Innatism?

Innatism suggests that some ideas are built into us from birth. Think of it like a natural talent or a way of thinking that you don't have to learn. For example, some philosophers believed that the idea of God or basic rules of logic are innate.

This idea is often linked to rationalists, who believed that reason and certain ideas exist independently of what we experience. On the other hand, empiricists disagreed, saying all knowledge comes from experience.

Many people think the German philosopher Immanuel Kant later combined these two ideas.

Famous Thinkers and Their Ideas

Plato's View

Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, thought that if we know some things are true without learning them from experience, then we must have been born with that knowledge. He believed we gained this knowledge before we were born.

In his book Meno, Plato tells a story where his teacher Socrates asked a slave boy about geometry. Even though the boy had never studied geometry, he could answer correctly. Plato thought this was possible because Socrates' questions helped the boy remember math knowledge he already had inside him.

Descartes' View

Descartes, a French philosopher, compared innate knowledge to an "innate" disease. He meant that just as a disease might be present from birth but only show up later, innate ideas are present from birth but might only become clear through experience.

He believed that experiences don't create knowledge, as John Locke suggested. Instead, experiences are like triggers that help us discover the knowledge that's already inside our minds.

Leibniz's View

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German philosopher, also believed we are born with certain innate ideas. He often pointed to mathematical truths, like 1 + 1 = 2, as examples. We know this is true without needing to see it happen every time.

Leibniz called these "necessary truths." He argued that experience can only show us what is true right now. But to know something will *always* be true, like 1 + 1 = 2, requires an innate idea. He said these truths are "universally assented to," meaning everyone agrees they are true. If someone doesn't realize it, it's because they haven't become aware of the innate idea yet.

John Locke's Opposing View

John Locke, an English philosopher, was a strong opponent of innate ideas. He argued that the mind is a "blank slate" or tabula rasa at birth. He believed all our ideas are built from what we learn through our senses.

Locke said that just because many people agree on something doesn't mean it's innate. It just means they agree. He also pointed out that babies and people with severe mental disabilities don't understand complex ideas like "What is, is." This, he argued, shows that these ideas are not universally present from birth.

Locke concluded that all our knowledge comes from experience. For him, even ideas that seem to be "known without experience" are actually just forgotten experiences.

Modern Ideas About Innatism

Language and Innatism

Noam Chomsky, a famous linguist, has used the idea of innatism to explain how we learn language. He argues that the language we hear around us (our environment) is often too messy or incomplete to fully explain how quickly children learn complex grammar.

Chomsky suggests that humans are born with a "universal innate grammar." This is like a built-in language guide that helps us understand and organize the language we hear. It allows us to know which sentences are grammatically correct, even if we've never heard them before.

If Chomsky is right, it means that at least some of our knowledge is not just learned from the environment. Instead, it's a natural ability that the environment helps to develop, but doesn't completely create. He believes that the information we get from our senses is much simpler than the complex beliefs we form. This extra information, he says, must come from our own minds.

Innatism facts for kids

Contents