concept innatism

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  • concept innatism
    • the idea that some of our concepts are innate
      • concepts are structures of the mind rather than being gained through experience
    • Locke against innate concepts
      • innate concepts are universal and we are aware of them
        • new born babies do not have concepts (certainly not identity and impossibility)
          • a concept can only be a part of our mind without us being concious of it if it is a memory
            • but concepts are meant to be from birth so are not remembered and are not new, how???
    • Leibniz's innatism
      • before innate concepts are triggered or made explicit they exist as dispositions in the mind,neither remembered or new
        • argued that every concept we gain via reflection(internal) is innate
    • Plato's universals
      • sense perception only gives us experiences of certain things
        • we never experience redness or beauty,only examples of it
          • concepts of universals are concepts of perfections
    • Descartes trademark (wax argument)
      • when i melt a piece of wax it loses all of its original sensory qualities yet i believe that it is the same wax
        • what i think of as wax remains through sensory changes
          • i know that wax can undergo far more extension than what i can imagine
            • therefore my concept of what as changeable and expandable does not derive from sensory experience
              • must be a part of our innate understanding

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