In Book 2, Chapter 9, Locke is describing and digging into the idea of perception. He says one knows perception better after he reflects on it. By reflecting on the perception, Locke means the way you see the perception, hear it, feel it, etc. He goes on to say how you can only perceive something if you pay mind to it. As an example from me, say you are in your room doing your homework. You have your tv on low, you are focusing on your school work either reading, writing or typing. All of a sudden you hear a clock ticking. The clock did not just start ticking. It has been ticking the whole time except at the moment you perceive the sound is when you noticed the ticking. This is what Locke is trying to say your mind does. Your mind must be activated by something and you much reflect on it (notice it's smell, feel, sound) in order to perceive it.
Later, he proposes the statement, "Children, though they have ideas in the womb, have none innate." (page 92) We would think opposite right? I mean, when children are in the womb they eat and keep warm. According to Locke, these are not of innate principles because they are simple ideas. They are just sensations and it does not take their mind to get them their food because the baby in the womb is constructed to be taken care of by the mother's body. Now, when I was reading this, I thought of another idea. What about when the baby is born and the baby takes it's first breath, is that an innate principle?
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Kari, I am working on the same problem as you and I really like your post. I especially like your example of the baby's first breath, is that an innate principle? Well, innate means to be born within, so I guess that makes sense in a way. We automatically came out of the womb knowing how to breath, we weren't alive long enough for someone to teach us how to breath, or for us to learn how to breath, we just did it so I definitely think thats an innate idea.
When a baby is in the womb, there is no direction as to what actions the baby should complete-he/she is just there growing doing absolutely nothing but chillen'. No on programmed the baby to just relax, it's just what happens. But perhaps you have something with first breath..is it innate? How did the baby even know how to gasp for air if it has never done so before? It must have been innate, something in the baby's brain told it to inhale. SO was the baby anticipating it the whole time in the womb? Did it know what to expect? Or maybe once the air hit the baby, its just the natural reaction to breathe?..hmmm
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