Final answer:
John Locke believed that complex ideas arise from the reflection on simple ideas, which are obtained through sensory experiences, rejecting the concept of innate knowledge.
Step-by-step explanation:
John Locke posited that complex ideas are arrived upon through reflection on simple ideas, which are themselves acquired through sensory experience.
In his influential work 'An Essay Concerning Human Understanding', Locke argued against the notion of innate knowledge and instead proposed that at birth, the human mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, that experiences of the world shape and fill.
According to Locke, the process of gaining knowledge starts with sensations that provide us with simple ideas, and through the act of reflecting on these simple ideas, we form complex ideas.