Innate knowledge
Innate knowledge: The innate knowledge theory is based on the following four main assumptions: 1. Human beings are endowed with innate knowledge as part of their rational nature. 2. Innate concepts and ideas are not the result of experience
3. This innate knowledge is conceived of in a number of different ways, i.e. the soul’s recollection (Plato), innate ideas of God (Descartes), a sense of time, space, causality and comparison (Kant), innate grammar (Pinker and Chomsky) and innate moral grammar (Hauser) 4. The source of innate moral knowledge is believed to be selection pressure.
Representatives of innate knowledge include Plato (472-347 BCE) René Descartes (1596-1650) Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Steven Pinker (b.1954) Marc Hauser (b. 1928)
In Nayef Al-Rodhan’s Theory of Knowledge, which he calls Neuro-rational Physicalism, the notion of innate knowledge (including moral knowledge) is rejected, but that of moral sensitivities is accepted.
SUSTAINABLE HISTORY AND THE DIGNITY OF MAN by Nayef Al-Rodhan, p.106
Innate knowledge Discussion
Innate knowledge: “The innate knowledge thesis contends that we have knowledge that is derived from our rational nature, but not from deduction or induction. Plato believed that reason is the heart of what it means to be human. In his view, human beings have knowledge through the “soul’s” recollection. The notion of innate knowledge suggests that we are certain of some things even when there is no way of explaining how we arrived at the idea. In addition to the notion that there is such a thing as innate knowledge, the innate concept thesis holds that we possess some concepts that do not depend on experience. They too are believed to be arrived at by virtue of the rational nature of humankind. Descartes, for example, recognised the existence of innate ideas, such as ideas about God.”
SUSTAINABLE HISTORY AND THE DIGNITY OF MAN by Nayef Al-Rodhan, p. 114
“However, unlike some rationalists, such as Plato, Descartes and Kant, Neuro-rational Physicalism rejects the notion that human beings possess innate knowledge. There is no knowledge that can be gained without experience of the external world, defined as the world outside the individual’s mind.”
SUSTAINABLE HISTORY AND THE DIGNITY OF MAN by Nayef Al-Rodhan, p.127
Key Paragraphs
Geostrategy, Geopolitics, Human Nature, International Relations, Conflict Theory, International Security, Global Security, National Security, Altruism, Globalization, Global Justice, Political Justice, Political Theory, Innate knowledge, Social Theory, Neurophilosophy, Philosophy of History, Diplomacy, Existentialism, History of Ideas, Statecraft, Theory of Knowledge, Political Philosophy, Human Civilization, Dignity, Ethics, Moral Philosophy, Innate Knowledge, Philosophical Approach, Multilateralism, Neorealism, Transcultural, National Security