PH 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Innatism, Tabula Rasa

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Notes for Day 14
The existence of innate principles:
Ockham's Razor: Ockham argued that we shouldn't unnecessarily multiply entities; if one explanation is
simpler than another one, then the simpler explanation is the correct explanation
Connection between something that is true and something that is simple
Francis Bacon argues that one of the idols of the mind is that we tendency to oversimplify everything,
which seems difficult because nature is complex, everything about the world is complex, you can't argue
for something to be simple in a complex world
Locke's argument is complex in the sense that he doesn't believe that innate ideas are true or existence
His main argument regarding innate ideas and his doubt towards them: in order for something to be an
innate idea, it must be universally agreed upon, but there are no such things, there are no things that
are universally agreed to, even the laws of logic are not universally agreed upon (children and the
mentally disabled don't agree upon the laws of logic)
If these principles of logic were imprinted at birth, then children would recognize the laws of logic (they
would understand what is right and what is wrong, they wouldn't have to learn what it means to be
good and what it means to be bad)
Locke wants to prove that we don't need innate ideas, and they don't exist because they are not
universally agreed upon, so they shouldn't be considered as existing entities
Plato and Leibniz both thought that innate ideas exist, but they are not universally agreed upon; there
can be things that are universally agreed upon, but they are not considered innate
But Locke seems to not be arguing against anyone, therefore, if he is not arguing against anyone, he
can't prove anything because there is no point
If you have an idea, then you are aware of it (this idea was supported by Locke, Descartes and Hume)
All ideas are things that we are consciously aware of, the mind is conscious of these ideas
To Locke, beliefs are only true if the mind is consciously aware of them (Freud argues against this and
argues for the idea of Subconscious thought--ideas that the mind is not consciously aware of)
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Document Summary

Ockham"s razor: ockham argued that we shouldn"t unnecessarily multiply entities; if one explanation is simpler than another one, then the simpler explanation is the correct explanation. Connection between something that is true and something that is simple. Locke"s argument is complex in the sense that he doesn"t believe that innate ideas are true or existence. Locke wants to prove that we don"t need innate ideas, and they don"t exist because they are not universally agreed upon, so they shouldn"t be considered as existing entities. Plato and leibniz both thought that innate ideas exist, but they are not universally agreed upon; there can be things that are universally agreed upon, but they are not considered innate. But locke seems to not be arguing against anyone, therefore, if he is not arguing against anyone, he can"t prove anything because there is no point.

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