See main article nativism
Nativism is a modern view rooted in innatism. The advocates of nativism are mainly philosophers who also work in the field of cognitive psychology or psycholinguistics: most notably Noam Chomsky and Jerry Fodor (although the latter has adopted a more critical attitude towards nativism in his later writings). The nativist’s general objection against empiricism is still the same as was raised by the rationalists: the human mind of a newborn child is no tabula rasa at all, but ...
The philosophy of innatism is sometimes divided into two areas:
Knowledge innatism - this doctrine asserts that humans have access to knowledge that is possessed innately.
Idea innatism - also known as concept innatism, this doctrine asserts that humans have access to certain inborn ideas.
Knowledge innatism seems to entail idea innatism.
Idea innatism does not necessary entail knowledge innatism.
An innatist might endorse an innatist account of ideas, or of knowledge, or (the most common ...
In general usage the terms innatism and nativism are synonymous as they both refer to notions of preexisting ideas present in the mind. However, more correctly innatism refers to the philosophy of Plato and Descartes who assumed that innate ideas and principles are placed in the human mind by a God or an equivalent being or process.
Nativism represents an adaption of this, grounded in the fields of genetics, cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics. Nativists hold that innate beliefs are in some way genetically programmed to arise in our mind, that is to say that innate belief ...
