Innate ideas

Innate ideas
Innate In"nate ([i^]n"n[asl]t or [i^]n*n[=a]t"; 277), a. [L. innatus; pref. in- in + natus born, p. p. of nasci to be born. See {Native}.] 1. Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence. [1913 Webster]

2. (Metaph.) Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience; as, innate ideas. See {A priori}, {Intuitive}. [1913 Webster]

There is an innate light in every man, discovering to him the first lines of duty in the common notions of good and evil. --South. [1913 Webster]

Men would not be guilty if they did not carry in their mind common notions of morality, innate and written in divine letters. --Fleming (Origen). [1913 Webster]

If I could only show, as I hope I shall . . . how men, barely by the use of their natural faculties, may attain to all the knowledge they have, without the help of any innate impressions; and may arrive at certainty without any such original notions or principles. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

3. (Bot.) Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament; as, an innate anther. --Gray. [1913 Webster]

{Innate ideas} (Metaph.), ideas, as of God, immortality, right and wrong, supposed by some to be inherent in the mind, as a priori principles of knowledge. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • innate ideas — Ideas that are inborn and not the product of experience. The controversy over their existence formed a major element in Locke s rejection of the philosophy of Descartes, and Locke was in turn attacked over the issue by Leibniz . The question was… …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Innate — In nate ([i^]n n[asl]t or [i^]n*n[=a]t ; 277), a. [L. innatus; pref. in in + natus born, p. p. of nasci to be born. See {Native}.] 1. Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence. [1913 Webster] 2. (Metaph.) Originating in, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • innate — innate, inborn, inbred, congenital, hereditary, inherited are comparable but not wholly synonymous terms that refer to qualities which either are or seem to be derived from one s inheritance or from conditions attending one s birth or origin.… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • innate idea — ▪ philosophy       in philosophy, an idea allegedly inborn in the human mind, as contrasted with those received or compiled from experience. The doctrine that at least certain ideas (e.g., those of God, infinity, substance) must be innate,… …   Universalium

  • innate — 1. adjective /ɪˈneɪt/ a) Inborn; native; natural; as, innate vigor; innate eloquence. b) Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience; as, innate ideas. See a priori, intuitive. See… …   Wiktionary

  • innate — /ɪnˈeɪt / (say in ayt) adjective 1. inborn; existing or as if existing in one from birth: innate modesty. 2. inherent in the essential character of something. 3. arising from the constitution of the mind, rather than acquired from experience:… …  

  • Innate intelligence — is a chiropractic term to describe the organizing properties of living things. It was originally coined by Daniel David Palmer, the founder of chiropractic. This vitalistic concept states that all life contains Innate (inborn) Intelligence and… …   Wikipedia

  • Leibniz: truth, knowledge and metaphysics — Nicholas Jolley Leibniz is in important respects the exception among the great philosophers of the seventeenth century. The major thinkers of the period characteristically proclaim the need to reject the philosophical tradition; in their… …   History of philosophy

  • Locke: knowledge and its limits — Ian Tipton I That John Locke’s Essay concerning Human Understanding is one of the philosophical classics is something nobody would deny, yet it is not easy to pinpoint precisely what is so special about it. Locke himself has been described as the …   History of philosophy

  • empiricism — empiricist, n., adj. /em pir euh siz euhm/, n. 1. empirical method or practice. 2. Philos. the doctrine that all knowledge is derived from sense experience. Cf. rationalism (def. 2). 3. undue reliance upon experience, as in medicine; quackery. 4 …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”