On Thursday I'll be proposing next week's discussion talking about Tabula Rasa and the idea of instincts and innate knowledge.
I'll try to give a brief intro. into the idea tomorrow, but in case you can't be there, over the week I'd like for everyone to do a little reading on the idea of knowledge and empiricism.
Here's a pretty decent article talking about Tabula Rasa:
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/260587_john-lockes-defense-of-his-tabula-rasa-theoryThe more you research and get acquainted with the ideas, the more likely you'll enjoy the discussion. you can print stuff out from online and bring it in to talk about too!
See where you stand on the subject! Some things to consider are:
- What is knowledge?
- How do people get it?
- Is there any kind of knowledge that you think people are born with?
- Do you think there's any truth in instincts or gut feelings?
- If you agree with empiricism, how is individuality even possible?
- If you believe in inherent knowledge, do our surroundings matter in terms of knowledge? Would we be the same people had we been born in another place?
- If you're somewhere in the middle, where do you draw the line on trusting instincts?
- Is the ability we have to reason inherent or do we acquire it from out senses?
Remember to keep an open mind to new ideas and to be respectful if you differ with someone else. It sucks when people are jerks.
When we have our discussion, feel free to voice your personal opinion, discussions are hard when three people talk!
I may possibly bring some cake or something to share if this works out, so there's an incentive for ya!