• Event Date: December 9, 2010
  • Event Start Time: 12:00 PM
  • Event End Time: 7:00 PM
  • Event Location: Rutgers University, Department of Philosophy
  • Event Semester: Fall 2010
  • Event Contact: Dr. Raffaella De Rosa
  • Event Extra info: <a href="http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~gabri">Dr. Raffaella De Rosa</a>

This paper offers a new interpretation of Locke's  challenge to the doctrine of innateness. I disagree with recent claims that Locke's arguments undermine nativism. But I also argue that this conclusion does not diminish their lasting contribution to the old and new debate over concept acquisition. Their lasting contribution consists in raising awareness-- among among nativists of all times -- of the necessity to be clear about the nature of the hidden structure of thought. More precisely, why is this hidden structure specified in intentional as opposed to non-intentional terms?  And what are the motivations underlying each specification? This is the real challenge of Locke's critique of nativism.  I reach these conclusions by first laying out the varieties of dispositional nativism that Locke was attacking;  by  discussing the basic structure of Locke's arguments and, finally, by assessing their strengths and weaknesses.