Something innate is born with the subject itself.
The term innate comes from the Latin innātus ( innasci , "to be born in" ) and refers to that which is natural for a subject since it is born with itself .
Therefore, based on this meaning of the term we are dealing with, we could say that it could be established, in the same way, as a synonym for adjectives such as inherited or congenital . For example: "The child suffers from an innate illness" , "Sometimes I think that evil is something innate in human beings" , "Poverty should never be innate" .
Innate in philosophy
Innatism , on the other hand, is a principle of rationalist philosophy that arises from the intention of finding an explanation of the origin of knowledge that is different from the argument of lived experiences.
This doctrine, therefore, explains that if knowledge does not arise through the sensory activity of experience, it must originate from a different source. These rationalist thinkers thus maintain that basic ideas (including belief in a God ) are innate.
The adjective innate can be used as a synonym for congenital or hereditary .
The view of Plato and other thinkers
When an organism is born, then, certain ideas are already part of its essence. From Plato to Gottfried Leibniz , passing through Baruch Spinoza and René Descartes , many great thinkers have held this conception.
To all these names of important figures in the history of thought we must inevitably add the American linguist Noam Chomsky , author of countless documents on various aspects such as language or computing, since the aforementioned innatism is very present in a of his most illustrious works: The Theory of Transformational and Generative Grammar.
And this without forgetting either that it is impossible to talk about this type of doctrine without referring to the fact that other very important figures have also studied and analyzed it, such as the Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant or the defenders of constructivism such as the Austrian scientist Paul Watzlawick. or Heinz von Foerster .
An innate defense system
The innate immune system , on the other hand, is known as the set of mechanisms and cells that act as an organism's defense against possible infections. This means that the system manages to generically recognize the pathogens and acts accordingly.
Detecting unnatural substances in tissues, triggering the functioning of the adaptive immune system , and transporting immune cells to infected areas are some of the functions of the innate immune system.
The difference with what was acquired
To all this we must add that it is common for the acquired concept to also arise when talking about innate. And they are totally the opposite. Thus, as always happens with the black-white dichotomy, we must also talk about innate-acquired. This is a compound expression, created by the English psychologist Francis Galton, which is used to debate whether various aspects are fruits of birth or their origin is social, family, learned.
Among the aspects that have been most debated regarding this innate or acquired dichotomy, reference should be made to diseases, the behaviors of human beings or various physical characteristics.