Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun philosophy The view that the mind is born with certain ideas or knowledge, as opposed to the idea of the "blank slate" or tabula rasa.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

innate +‎ -ism

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Examples

  • On the other hand, Descartes's exaltation of deduction and Leibniz's adoption of the mathematical method have their origin in that doctrine of innatism which is the opposite of empiricism.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 9: Laprade-Mass Liturgy 1840-1916 1913

  • I'm not sure my argument on innatism is as wrong as you think - 'right' and 'wrong' only have any meaning when they refer to actions.

    On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2008

  • This is the most fully developed theory of knowledge by any of the Cambridge Platonists, and the most extensive treatment of innatism by any seventeenth-century philosopher.

    The Cambridge Platonists Hutton, Sarah 2007

  • In a veritable bookshelf of recently published volumes, he has argued for what might be called a soft innatism: a theory of mind that holds that certain concepts or ways of thinking are hardwired into our brains at birth.

    Speedlinking 9/12/07 William Harryman 2007

  • Few theorists of cognitive development today find either the extreme empiricism of Locke or the strong innatism of Plato or Descartes completely acceptable.

    The Philosophy of Childhood Matthews, Gareth 2005

  • Quine holds that Chomsky's innatism is compatible with behaviorist and empiricist learning theories.

    The Sleeping Chess Player Gewirth, Alan 1973

  • This assimilation of empiricism and behaviorism to Leibniz's innatism is, however, based on a misunderstanding of the latter's statement.

    The Sleeping Chess Player Gewirth, Alan 1973

  • But the Leibnizian background, correctly understood, gives much stronger support to Chomsky's innatism.

    The Sleeping Chess Player Gewirth, Alan 1973

  • Furthermore, as Gewirth explains the distinction between powers and dispositions, neither term is quite appropriate for Chomsky's own innatism.

    The Sleeping Chess Player Gewirth, Alan 1973

  • Chomsky's innatism is an empirical hypothesis that will have to be verified or refuted on empirical evidence; its truth or falsity does not derive from its Leibnizian ancestry.

    The Sleeping Chess Player Gewirth, Alan 1973

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  • Some argue the path to true wisdom

    Begins with the font and the chrism,

    But others protest

    The infant is blessed

    With insights of deep innatism.

    October 17, 2018