Innate_Ideas

Innate Ideas For the purpose of this essay I would like to look at and discus the argument put forth by both Locke and Descartes on the topic of innate ideas. This topic, above all the rest, was one that I found to be the most thought provoking. If I had to describe where my position stands I would have to say that I fall more in the Locke end of the spectrum but with some added thoughts that I feel were overlooked. The two different positions allows the reader to be provoked into a thought process that can be quite convincing on both sides of the argument but I would tend to agree with Locke’s more empirical approach to the argument. Descartes’ process throughout the meditations to eliminate forms of knowledge or modes of gaining knowledge by finding grounds for doubt leads him into the realm of his own ideas. By using the “Dream” argument Descartes effectively eliminates sensory perception as the basis of knowledge. Even though he eventually overcomes the “Dream” argument in his later meditations he is forced to turn inward to his own mind, for a time, for his basis of all knowledge. This is then further complicated ideas, descartes, argument, innate, locke, both, one, locke’s, children, wrong, thought, right, own, nature, knowledge, god, through, though, realm, reality, inherent, idea, based, writings, topic, things, sides, should, shaped, say, same, provoking, opinion, meditations, human, found