First it fails, because pretty much everything Kant wrote about geometry runs into the serious problem that his whole idea is deeply connected to Euclidean geometry being the one, true correct geometry.
That’s true, but it doesn’t sound relevant to the subject of the article.
Second, this runs into the earlier discussed problem of trying to discuss what major philosophers meant, as if that had intrinsic interest.
A solid blow.
Third, a glance strongly suggests that they are ignoring the large body of actual developmental psych data about how children actually do and do not demonstrate intuitions for their surrounding geometry.
That might be relevant to Strawson’s view, I’m not actually sure what he says, but it’s not relevant to Kant’s view. ‘A priori’ does not mean ‘innate’ or biologically determined.
That might be relevant to Strawson’s view, I’m not actually sure what he says, but it’s not relevant to Kant’s view. ‘A priori’ does not mean ‘innate’ or biologically determined.
It doesn’t to mondern philosophers, but the way it was used by Kant it seems like he meant it very close to how we would use “innate”.
No, Kant thought that you could only have synthetic a priori knowledge if you already had a fair amount of experience with the world. Synthetic a priori knowledge is knowledge which rests on experience (Kant thinks all knowledge begins with experience), but it doesn’t make reference to specific experiences. Likewise, analytic a priori knowledge requires knowledge of language and logic, which, of course, is not innate either. Kant doesn’t think there’s any such thing as innate knowledge, if this means knowledge temporally prior to any experience.
That’s true, but it doesn’t sound relevant to the subject of the article.
A solid blow.
That might be relevant to Strawson’s view, I’m not actually sure what he says, but it’s not relevant to Kant’s view. ‘A priori’ does not mean ‘innate’ or biologically determined.
It doesn’t to mondern philosophers, but the way it was used by Kant it seems like he meant it very close to how we would use “innate”.
No, Kant thought that you could only have synthetic a priori knowledge if you already had a fair amount of experience with the world. Synthetic a priori knowledge is knowledge which rests on experience (Kant thinks all knowledge begins with experience), but it doesn’t make reference to specific experiences. Likewise, analytic a priori knowledge requires knowledge of language and logic, which, of course, is not innate either. Kant doesn’t think there’s any such thing as innate knowledge, if this means knowledge temporally prior to any experience.
This has it about right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_priori_and_a_posteriori#Immanuel_Kant