Abstract
Few questions in science are as controversial as the origins of knowledge. Whether knowledge (e.g., “objects are cohesive”) is partly innate has been debated for centuries. Here, we ask whether our difficulties with innate knowledge could be grounded in human cognition itself. In eight experiments, we compared reasoning about the innateness of traits that capture knowledge (cognitive traits) with noncognitive (sensorimotor and emotive) traits. Experiments 1–4 examined adult and infant traits; Experiment 5 presented detailed descriptions of published infant experiments. Results showed that people viewed cognitive traits as less likely to be innate in humans—the stronger the association with “thinking,” the lower the rating for “innateness.” Experiments 6–8 explored human, bird, and alien traits that were presented as innate. Participants, however, still considered cognitive traits as less likely to emerge spontaneously (i.e., be innate). These results show that people are selectively biased in reasoning about the origins of knowledge.
Highlights
The origin of knowledge is one of the most controversial questions in the history of ideas
There are various reasons to believe that the notion of innate knowledge might present a special challenge to intuitive human cognition, reasons we explore in the General Discussion
Do people view these cognitive traits as ones that are indicative of “thinking”? Second, do people believe that cognitive traits are less likely to emerge spontaneously? And third, is the rating of a trait for innateness associated with its classification as “thinking”?
Summary
The origin of knowledge is one of the most controversial questions in the history of ideas. At stake is whether knowledge (e.g., the notion of an “object”) is induced from experience, or whether certain cognitive concepts and principles are innate in humans These debates have been raging since the times of the ancient Greeks, and they show no sign of abating in the current scientific literature. To this end, we examine reasoning about the origins of various types of cognitive traits that capture knowledge and compare them to sensory, emotional, and motor traits. We examine reasoning about the origins of various types of cognitive traits that capture knowledge and compare them to sensory, emotional, and motor traits We refer to these traits generically as cognitive, but our interest is strictly in innate knowledge (e.g., “objects are cohesive”), as opposed to “knowhow” (e.g., playing the violin) or “horizontal” faculties (e.g., attention, memory, and problem solving). Do people view these cognitive traits as ones that are indicative of “thinking”? Second, do people believe that cognitive traits are less likely to emerge spontaneously (i.e., be innate)? And third, is the rating of a trait for innateness associated with its classification as “thinking”?
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