Which ideas did Descartes believe were innate?

In the context of modern philosophy, René Descartes is considered the most prominent exponent of the doctrine of innate ideas—concepts he believed were inborn in the human mind rather than derived from sensory experience.1

Descartes argued that humans possess innate ideas of mind, matter, and God. Specifically, he maintained that the idea of an infinite, perfect God is innate, as finite beings could not generate such a concept on their own. These ideas are considered "clear and distinct," serving as the foundational truths from which other knowledge can be derived through reason.23

While Descartes acknowledged that sensory experience might act as an agency to elicit or develop these ideas, he maintained that the core concepts themselves are a priori and demonstrable through pure reasoning. This rationalist approach allowed him to establish metaphysical foundations for the existence of the self, God, and the material world, independent of the fallible nature of sense perception.423