How far are babies conditioned with notions?

[spacial]

This thought has emerged from some points raised by Nathan in another forum.

There are many aspects of life that are to taken for granted.

Awareness of a higher power.

Awareness of gender.

Awareness of fear.

Awareness of conflict and many others.

We know that babies are aware of their basic needs, comfort, hunger. Many, who make it their life's work to campaign against notions they dislike, sexism, racism, morality, theism argue that babies have no awareness of these and sometimes any other notions.

To wnat extent is this true.

Are babies born with no awareness of racism, for example or is avoidance a learnt behaviour?

[Octavianus]

Are babies born with no awareness of racism, for example or is avoidance a learnt behaviour?

I like to think so, just place yourself in the mind of a newborn child for a moment. It enters a whole new world full of things to wonder about.
When you look at babies you can see them looking and pointing ate everything nearby: they marvel of this new world. When growing up you can see children be extremely enthusiastic about almost everything they see. Just watch how toddlers in a buggy are smiling and waving their hands and feet when they see a train or dog.
We however don't share the enthusiasm of the child, we have seen plenty of trains and dogs: they are normal to us.
It is this ability to marvel that we slowly loose while growing up. While a child in daycare can still innocently ask an African person "why is your skin brown?", we don't even dare to think about asking such a question.
So what happens? While growing up we are slowly trained in what to think of as normal and abnormal. It is something we learn from society and the world around us.

[Janet_Girl]

Babies are clean as a new slate.  It is the parents, TV and adult authority figures that they learn from.  Some where they begin to make their own judgement calls, but it still comes from the earlier training..

[Silver]

One does not need to learn how to learn how to fear. It's a natural response to percieved danger.

But I believe that everything else (racism, certain gender norms, etc.) is gleaned from the environment.