Which famous philosopher first stated ¨the mind starts as a blank tablet¨(tabula rasa)?

Answer 1

Tabula Rasa – The term was used by John Locke to summarize his claim that the mind comes into life blank or empty, and is written on by experience as though it were a clay or wax tablet waiting to be marked by a writing stylus. Locke was arguing against the widely held view that the mind comes to experience with ideas which are built into it (or "hard-wired" as computer types like to say).

Answer 2

First, Locke never ever thought the mind was complete 'empty' at birth. It comes with all sorts of ("inherent", "natural") faculties and built-in operations (see Essay 2.9-2.11). His claim, if you'll simply read Book 1 of the Essay, was that we have no innate ideas (for Locke, mental representations similar to images) and also no innate knowledge of general philosophical principles (neither speculative nor practical/moral). He's not against innateness as such, he's against innate ideas and innate knowledge. I mean, come on, Locke has to think the mind has lots of stuff in it prior to experience: most obviously, it has the capacity to receive ideas from experience! (2.1.24) So the above talk of having been completely refuted by modern science is based on a misreading (or a never-having-even-read!) of Locke's Essay, where Locke is some moron who thinks there's no such thing as human nature.

Second, if you want to see Locke's statement of something like 'tabula rasa', see Essay 2.1.2: "Let us then suppose the Mind to be, as we say, white Paper, void of all Characters, without any Ideas; How comes it to be furnished?" He also mentions white paper in 1.2.22. As far as I know, he never says "tabula rasa" or "blank slate". Perhaps he says it outside of the Essay, maybe in his stuff on education.

Answer 3

In Western philosophy, traces of the idea that came to be called the tabula rasa appear as early as the writings of Aristotle:

Check this link for verification:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_slate

Answer 4

John Locke's mistaken idea that the mind is a " scraped tablet " ( exact translation ) and " what is in the mind is first in the senses ". This concept is totally refuted by the modern science of genetics, neurobiology and neurology.

Answer 5

John Locke.

Answer 6

Descarte or Socrates?

Is it possible to start over on a clean/blank slate?

Answer 7

The whole point of knowing trivia is defeated on the internet.

**jeopardy music**

Answer 8

socrates