Language acquisition in the absence of proof of absence of experience

A Philosopher's War on Poverty of the Stimulus Arguments: A Review of Fiona Cowie's What's Within? Nativism Reconsidered

In What's Within? Nativism Reconsidered 1999 Fiona Cowie addresses three questions: (1) What is nativism? (2) What is meant by calling some trait "innate"? and (3) What types of evidence should be offered when claiming innateness? This review concentrates on these questions as they pertain to Chomsky's faculties-based account of language acquisition. In particular, this review focuses on Cowie's critique of three versions of the poverty of the stimulus argument (POSA): (1) the a posteriori POSA, (2) the logical problem POSA, and (3) the iterated POSA. In addition, counter arguments to her critique, and Cowie's response, in turn, to some of those counter arguments, are also reviewed.