Zach Wilson--Alternative Topic 3

Epistemology seeks to answer the questions of what knowledge is, how it can be acquired, and to what extent can things be known.  A classic view is that of tabula rasa (blank slate), which was proposed by Locke, that individuals are born with a blank slate of information, and that sense experience adds knowledge.  This is countered by the view that humans are born with hard-wired information which is then later accessed.  I feel as though Locke is correct to a degree, but there are still instincts that are hard-wired into the minds of humans, such as the survival instinct.  This can be evidenced by the fight or flight response, fear of danger and how to walk.  There was a point in time of human existence where language did not exist, and humans had to accomplish tasks such as transportation or feeding.  These are instincts which are known.  However, the vast majority of knowledge must be tied to sense experience and the tabula rasa system.  Knowledge learned from books or academic lectures takes this form