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Show No innate Principles in tbe Mind. Book I. Jf therefore thefe rwo Propofitions, Whatfoevu is, is, an~, It _is impoj!ib!e for the fame thing to /;e, and not to !Je, are by Nature tmprmted, Children cannot be ignorant of them : Infants, and all that have Souls mull: necclfarily have them in their Underfrandings, know the Truth of them, and alfent to it. §. 6. To avoid this, 'tis ufually anfwer'd,that all Men know and af!ent to them, when they come to the uft of Reafon, and this is enough to prove thein innate. I anfwer, §. 7, Doubtful .Expreffions,that have fcarce any fignification,go for clear Reafons to thofe, who being prepofftffed,take not the pains to examine even what they themfelves fay. For to apply this Anfwer with any tolerable Sence to our prefent Purpofe, it mull: fignifie one of thefe two things; either, That as foon as Men come to the ufe of lleafon, thefe fuppo1Cd native Infcriptions come to be known,and obferved by them: Or elfe,that the Ufe and Exercife of Men's Reafons affifl: them in the Difcovery of thefe Principles, and certainly m~ke them known to them. §. 8. If they mean that by the Vfe of Reafon Men may difcovcr thefe Principles, and that this is fufficieot to prove them innate; their way of arguing will Jland thus, (viz.) That whatever Truths Reafon can certainly difcover to us, and rna ke us firmly affent to, thofc are all naturally in'l· printed on the Mind; fince that univerfal Alfent, which i• made tho Mark of rhein, amounts to no more but this ; That by the ufe of Reafon, we are capable to come to a certain Knowledge of, and affent to them ; and by this Means there will be no difference between the Maxims of the Mathematicians, and Theorems they deduce from them: All mull be equally allow'd innate , they being all Difcoveries made by the ufe of Reafon, and Truths that a rational Creature may certainly come to know, if he apply his Thoughts rightly that Way. §. 9· . But how can thofe Men think the ufe of Rtafon neceffary to difc<>" ver Principles that are fuppofed innate, when Reafon (if we may believe them) is nothing elfe, but the Faculty of deducing unknown Truths from Principles or Propofitions, that are already known ! That certainly can never be thought innate, which we have need of Reafon to difcover,unle!S as I have faid,we will have all the certain Truths, that Reafon ever teaches us, to be innate. We m•y as well think the ufe of Reafon neceffary to make our Eyes difcover vifible Objects, as that there lhould be need of Reafon, or the ·Exercife thereof to make the Underfran· ding fee what is.Originally.engrav~n in it, and cannot be in the Under· frandmg before It be percetvcd by 1t. So that to make Reafon difcover thofe Truths thus imprinted, is to fay, that the ufe of Reafon difcovers to a Man, what he knew before ; and if Men have thefe innate, im· prelfed Truths Originally, and before the ufe of Reafon, and yet are always ignorant of them, till they come to theufe ofReafon, 'tis in effcCl: to fay, that Men know, and know them not at the fame time. g. 10. 'Twill here perhaps be faid, that Mathematical Demonllrations, , and other Truths, that are not innate, are not a!lented to as foon as pro· pos'd, wherein they are difringui{h'd from thefe Maxims, and other in· ~ nate Truths. I lhall haveoccafion to fpeak of Affent upon the firfl: propofiog, more particularly by_ and by; I !hall here only, and that very rca· d•ly,allow, That thefe Maxims, and Mathematical Demonfrrations are in this different; That the one has need of Reafon ufing of Proofs to make them 01U, and to gain our Allent: but the other, as foon as under· frood, arc, wtthoutaoy the leafi reafoning, embraced and afiented to. But I Wtthal beg leave to obferve, That it lays open the Weakne!S of this. Chap. II. No innat-e Principles in the Mind. this Subterfuge, which requires the Vfe of &afon for the Difcovery of thcfc general Truths: Since it muft be confcffed, that in their Difcovery, there is no Ufe made of rcafoning at all. And I think thofe who give this Anfwer, will not be forward to affirm, that the !\now ledge of this Maxim, That it is impnj!iUc for the fame thing to he, and hot to be, is a dedu[ tion of our Reafon. For this would be to deftroy that Bounty of Nature, they fcem (o fond ot; whilfr they make the Knowledge ofthofe Prin· ciplcs to depend on the labour of our Thoughts. For all Reafoning is fcarch, and calling about, nod requires Pains and Application. And how .:an it with any tolerable Sence be fuppos'd, that what was imprinted by Nature, as the Foundation and Guide of our Reafon, fhould need the Ufe of Reafon to Jifcover it! 9. 1 1. Thole who will take the P•insto reflect with a little attention ort the Operations of the Underftanding, will find that this ready Affcnt of the Mind to f<>mc Truths, depends not either on native Infcriprion, nor the V{e of Re".[im; but on a Faculty of the Mind quite difl:inct from both of them, as we fl1all fee hereafter. Reafon therefore, having nothing to do in procuring our Affent to thefc Maxims, if by foying, that Ne11 knon; and a[{ent to tbem, zvben tbeY come to tbe Vft of Rea(o,, be meant, That the ufe of Rcafon affills us in the Knowledge of thefc Maxims, it is ut• tcrly lalfe; and were it-true, would prove them not to be innate. g.12. If by knowing and affentingto thcm,JV!mtiVecome lot!Jeufoof Reafon be mcaot,that this is the time when they come to betaken notice of by the Mind;and that as foon as Children come to the ufeof Reafon,they come alfo to know and atfcnt to thefe Maxims; this alfo i.; falfe,and frivolous. Firj}, It is falfe: bccaufc it is evident thefe Maxims are not in the Mind fo early as the ufe of Reafon; aud therefore the coming to the ufe of Reafon is fa!{]y affigned,as the time of their Difcovery. How many infiances of the ufe of Rcafon may we obferve in Children a lonj; time before they have any Knowledge of this Maxim, J'!Jat it is impoJ!ihle for t!Je fame J/Jing to be, a11d not to he? and a great part of illiterate People, and Savages, pafs many Y cars, even of their rational Ages, without ever thinking on this, and the like general Propofitions. I grant Men come not to the KnowJedgeofthefc general and more abftract Truths, which arc thought innate till they come to theufe of Rcafon;and I add,nor then ncitlrer. Which is fo, becaufe till after they come to the ufe of Reafon, thofe general abftract Idea's are not framed in the Mind,about which thofe general Maxims are, which are miftaken for innate Principles, but are indeed Difcoveries made, and Verities introduced and brought into the Mind by the fame Way, and difcovcred by the fame Steps, as feveral other Propolitions, which no llody was ever fo extravagant as to fuppofe innate. This I hope to make plain in the fequel of this Difcourfe. I allow therefore a Neceflity, that Men fl1ould come to the ufe of Reafon,before they get the Knowledge of thofe general Truths: but deny,that Men's coming to the ufe of Reafon is the time of their Difcovery. §.I J. In the mean time, it is obfervable, that this f.1ying that Men know, and affent to thefe Maxims, JVhen ti"J come to t!Je ufe of Rea[o11, amounts in reality of Fact to no more but this, That they are never known, nor taken notice of before the ufe of Rt'llfon, but may pollibly be affentcd to fometime after during a Man's Life ; but when, is uncer· tain : And fo may .all other knowable Truths as well as thefe, which therefore have no Advantage, nor difiinction from others by this Note of being known when we come to the ufc ofRt'!lfon;nor are thereby pro- ' vcd to be innate, but quite the contrary. 7 |