Tabula Rasa – John Locke 1

Human Mind is a Tabula Rasa

Dr. M. I. Subhani
Iqra University Research Center – IURC
Amber Osman
Iqra University Research Center – IURC
December 23, 2010

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The Latin term Tabula Rasa equates to the English "blank slate" (which refers to writing on a slate sheet
with chalk). Tabula rasa is the epistemological study that a human is born with no built -in mental content
and that human knowledge comes from experience and perception. Generally exponents of the tabula rasa
study favors the "nurture" side of the nature, when it comes to aspects of one's personality, social,
emotional behavior, and intelligence.

Key Words: Tabula Rasa, Blank Slate, John Locke, Nurture, Knowledge.

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Introduction

Tabula Rasa has been referred in different contexts depending upon the mode of work. Different
concepts arose from this term to a wider perspective and research studies by different people.
Mostly in the 20th century, the swings to this study was attached to character withdrew racism
and then follows the gender identity as a communal structure, which is at present most
commonly in use.

Literature Review

In Western philosophy, traces of the idea called the tabula rasa appeared and came as early as in
the Aristotle time when Aristotle (384 BC) writes about the un-scribed tablet, probably the first
textbook of psychology in the Western canon (De Anima or On the Soul, Book III, chapter 4).
However, besides some arguments lifted by the Peripatetic and Stoics, the impression of the
mind like blank sheet went largely unnoticed for not less than 1,000 years.
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The Islamic philosopher, Avicenna (1100) known as "Ibne Sina" in the Muslim world,
developed more clearly the concept of tabula rasa. He fenced that the "human mind at birth is
rather like a Blank Sheet, that is actualized via education" and that knowledge is come -upon
through "empirical familiarity with objects in th is world from which one outline s universal
concepts" which is developed through a "deducting method of reasoning; observations lead to
prepositional statements, which when compounded lead to further synopsis" (Avicenna, 1100, p.
249).

Avicenna (1100) further argued that the intellect ualism itself "possesses levels of growth
from the material intellect that can gain knowledge and transmit it to the active intellect, the state
of the human intellect at colligation with the perfect source of knowledge.

Another study via thought experimentation was written by Tophail (1200) also known as
Ibn Tufail or Abubacer in ‘Hayy Ibn Yaqzan’, in which Tophail (1200) impersonated the
minacious child’s mind development in isolation from society i.e. from tabula rasa to adult hood
on a desert – experience alone. The concept of Avicenna (1100) and Tophail (1200) wasn’t able
to gather much influence.

The modern theory specifically addressed to Locke’s (1690) interest i.e. the Essay
concerning Human Understanding. According to Locke’s (1690 ) philosophical expression on
tabula rasa explained that human mind is a ‘clean slate’ without any data rules. Once the data is
brought into the mind, it is processed and formed by one’s sensorial experiences purely. It is
assumed that human is immutable but has a free, self -authored mind (Locke, 1690).

In addition to this essay Locke (1690) was basically concerned with the human
understanding and the knowledge. The point of comprehension for Locke (1690) is that a human
mind starts functioning once it gains some sort of experience else it is a ‘blank slate’ since birth
time which is termed as ‘Tabula Rasa’ . This principal was the influenc e on many philosophers
such as Berkeley (1710) and Hume (1740).

Yet another known psychoanalysis by Freud (1899 ) on tabula rasa describes personality
traits. According to Freud (1899), the extension of tabula rasa is the personal appeal which is
adapted by family dynamics, hereditary and congenital influences on human personality and
 Tabula Rasa – John Locke 3

human brought up.

This study further turned pages and bloom in the 20th century to the concept of ‘Tabula
Rasa’ as the idea of genes one belongs to, which translates individual character to the racist
implications.

As per the study by Money (1970), genes involvement is not the actual content on the
human ‘blank slate’ mind but it’s the social constructions, which is the root cause of gender
identity- social constructions states the actua l contents on human blank slate . In this connection
Baired and Walter (2008) accentuated that an individual is free to define the cognitio n content of
his/her character but it does not imply that the individual basic identity can be modified.

There are contradictions/criticisms to this study as well by Golding’s (1954) in his Novel
‘Lord of Flies’. The author wrote to prove that the humans a re born with an evil mind and it’s the
job of humans to contain an evil. Another contradictory verdict by Hobbes (1651 ) is that humans
are born selfish. These two studies signify the negative mind of the human by birth, which is
opposite to the philosophy of Locke’s (1690) Essay on Human Understanding.

Conclusion

One can easily indentify the purpose of Locke’s (1690 ) study on tabula rasa, that a human mind
is clear since birth. All the ideas are generated only by experience and gaining insights with time.
Locke (1690) explained that some ideas are generated by the sensory initiating in the womb. For
example, the colors and tastes difference and understanding. If one has a universal understanding
of what is sweet or bitter is not because it’s an innate idea but that individual gets exposed to it at
an early age. Locke (1690) is in versus to the innate ideas. The author believed innate ideas do
not exist. He argued on the rationalists attesting the universally accepted truth on the principle of
identity that least children or idiots are not aware of these propositions. It’s from the fetal
development, that the mind is a blank shell, nurtures and responds through series of experiences
with time.
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In short, ‘Beginning blank, the human mind acquires knowledge thr ough the use of the
five senses and a process of reflection’ (Locke, 1690: Tabula Rasa & Empiricism, Part 4 to the
Life & Works of John Locke).

References

Aristotle. (384BC). On the Soul. (De Anima Book III, chapter 4), translated by Hett, W.

S.(1936). in Aristotle, Loeb Classical Library, 8, 1–203. London, UK.

Avicenna. (1100). De Anima (Fi’l-Nafs),translated by Rahman, (1954). London, UK.

Baird, Forrest E. & Kaufmann, Walter. (2008). From Plato to Derrida. Upper Saddle River,

Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0 -13-158591-6.

Freud, S. (1899). An Outline of Psychoanalysis . The Standard Edition of the Complete

Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XXIII.

George, Berkeley (1710). A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge , Part I,

translated by Glynn, R. (1985).The Mind in Mother, 3, 1–20. London, UK.

Golding, William.(1954).Lord of the Flies: Human Nature and individual welfare, 1, 49-79.

Hobbes, Thomas. (1651). Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy , Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy. Retrieved (2009).

Hume, D. (1740). A Treatise of Human Nature (1967, edition). Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Locke, John. (1690). An Essay Concerning Human Understanding , Kenneth P. Winkler (ed.),

33–36, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1996.

Money (1970). Social constructions states the actual contents on human bl ank slate. Journal of

Mind Sciences, 21, (2), 23-45.

Tophail, Ebn. (1200), The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn

Yokdhan (Hayy ibn Yaqzan), translated by Simon Ockley (1708). Edm. Powell,

9, 1–195.London, UK.