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Single Idea 8100

[filed under theme 18. Thought / D. Concepts / 2. Origin of Concepts / c. Nativist concepts ]

Full Idea

The idea of the nest in the bird's mind, where does it come from?

Gist of Idea

Where does the bird's idea of a nest come from?

Source

Joseph Joubert (Notebooks [1800], 1800)

Book Ref

Joubert,Joseph: 'Notebooks', ed/tr. Auster,Paul [nyrb 2005], p.67


A Reaction

I think this is a very striking example in support of innate ideas. Most animal behaviour can be explained as responses to stimuli, but the bird seems to hold a model in its mind while it collects its materials.


The 15 ideas from 'Notebooks'

Seek wisdom rather than truth; it is easier [Joubert]
The imagination has made more discoveries than the eye [Joubert]
We must think with our entire body and soul [Joubert]
He gives his body up to pleasure, but not his soul [Joubert]
To know is to see inside oneself [Joubert]
The truths of reason instruct, but they do not illuminate [Joubert]
Truth consists of having the same idea about something that God has [Joubert]
Where does the bird's idea of a nest come from? [Joubert]
Virtue is hard if we are scorned; we need support [Joubert]
We cannot speak against Christianity without anger, or speak for it without love [Joubert]
A thought is as real as a cannon ball [Joubert]
What will you think of pleasures when you no longer enjoy them? [Joubert]
We can't exactly conceive virtue without the idea of God [Joubert]
In raising a child we must think of his old age [Joubert]
The love of certainty holds us back in metaphysics [Joubert]