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An innate (Latin, ‘inborn’) idea, in philosophy, is an idea in the mind before it has any sensory experiences. Empiricist philosophers such as Locke argued that before it has any sensory experiences the mind is a tabula rasa or ‘blank tablet’, empty of all ideas. One of Locke\'s objections to the hypothesis of innate ideas is that if there were any innate ideas, they would be universal—they would be possessed by adults and infants, and by members of different tribes and cultures. But no idea has ever been established as universal in this sense. AJ
See also empiricism.Further reading John Locke, ‘An Essay Concerning Human Understanding’; , J.L. Mackie, Problems from Locke. |
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