
Contents
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1. Historical Background: Rationalism and Empiricism 1. Historical Background: Rationalism and Empiricism
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2. What is Innateness? 2. What is Innateness?
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2.1. Biological Conceptions 2.1. Biological Conceptions
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2.1.1. Invariance 2.1.1. Invariance
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2.1.2. Canalization 2.1.2. Canalization
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2.2. Psychological Primitivism 2.2. Psychological Primitivism
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2.2.1. Primitivism and Overgeneration 2.2.1. Primitivism and Overgeneration
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2.2.2. Normal Development 2.2.2. Normal Development
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2.2.3. Generalizing Primitivism 2.2.3. Generalizing Primitivism
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2.3. Suppose We Do Not Know What Innateness Is 2.3. Suppose We Do Not Know What Innateness Is
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3. Innate Ideas 3. Innate Ideas
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3.1. Preliminary Issues 3.1. Preliminary Issues
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3.1.1. What Concepts Are 3.1.1. What Concepts Are
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3.1.2. Learning versus Triggering 3.1.2. Learning versus Triggering
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3.1.3. Evolutionary Worries 3.1.3. Evolutionary Worries
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3.2. Initial Arguments for Conceptual Nativism 3.2. Initial Arguments for Conceptual Nativism
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3.3. Internal Constructions 3.3. Internal Constructions
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3.3.1. The Classical View 3.3.1. The Classical View
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3.3.2. Empiricism and Verificationism 3.3.2. Empiricism and Verificationism
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3.3.3. Prototype Theories 3.3.3. Prototype Theories
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3.3.4. Non-Sensory Primitives 3.3.4. Non-Sensory Primitives
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3.3.5. Other Methods of Definition 3.3.5. Other Methods of Definition
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3.4. Externalism 3.4. Externalism
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3.4.1. Causal Theories 3.4.1. Causal Theories
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3.4.2. Fodor's (1998) Prototype Triggering View 3.4.2. Fodor's (1998) Prototype Triggering View
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3.5. Fodor's (2008) View 3.5. Fodor's (2008) View
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4. Conclusion 4. Conclusion
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References References
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14 Innateness
Get accessSteven Gross, Department of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University
Georges Rey, Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland
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Published:01 May 2012
Cite
Abstract
The article describes to what extent the structures and contents of the mind are innate, and to what extent they are learned or otherwise acquired from the environment. Aristotle argued that all ideas are derived from experience by a causal process in which forms (or properties of things) in the external world are transmitted into the mind. John Locke insisted that the simple ideas are derived from sensation, and all other ideas are constructed from the simple ones by the mental operations of compounding, comparing, and abstracting. Sober emphasized that there is no common currency with which to compare the relative contributions of genes and environment and suggested that biological determinants do not in general decompose into amounts of genetic versus nongenetic force. Sober suggested that there might not be a single specification of relevant environments and one might need to fix the range pragmatically as it varies with explanatory interests. Ariew suggested that what matters for innateness is whether a trait's emergence is sensitive to certain specific kinds of environmental factors, where the relevant factors can vary with the trait in question and indeed with one's explanatory interest. Fodor's initial agument for the innateness of concepts was quite simple. He pointed out that standard accounts of learning a trait it as a process of hypothesis confirmation.
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