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Definition of Tabula Rasa

“Tabula rasa” is a term in Latin that means “erased tablet." The ancient Roman students were using wax tablets to write on, which they erased by heating the wax and smoothing it out to create a blank slate. Figuratively, it means having an open mind, without prejudices or preconceived ideas. The term has been used by philosophers and psychologists in the “nurture versus nature” debate as well as by geneticists and other scientists.
  1. Philosophical Meaning

    • One of the first philosophers to use the term was Aristotle. However, the idea that the human intellect is “tabula rasa” at birth and that humans acquire knowledge later on through experience and learning belongs to the eleventh century Islamic philosopher known as Avicenna. In the seventeenth century, the philosopher John Locke reiterated that idea and added that the human mind evolves through perception and reflection. Sigmund Freud also subscribed to the idea of nurture during the end of the nineteenth century.

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