tabula rasa
TAB-yuh-luh RAH-zuh
/ˌtæb.jə.lə ˈrɑː.zə/
An absence of preconceived ideas; a blank slate upon which experience writes.
The theory that the human mind begins entirely empty of innate concepts at birth.
The story behind the word. Literally 'scraped tablet' in Latin, referring to a smoothed wax tablet ready for new writing. Aristotle used the metaphor, and Locke made it famous in modern philosophy.
Word relationships
- blank slate: Blank slate is the direct English translation and everyday equivalent.
- innateness: Innateness asserts built-in cognitive structures or pre-existing ideas at birth.
Commonly confused with
- carte blanche: Carte blanche signifies unconditional freedom of action, while tabula rasa signifies an unwritten blank mind.
Collocations
- a tabula rasa mind
- treat as a tabula rasa
- blank slate tabula rasa
Example sentences
- "John Locke argued that at birth, the mind is a tabula rasa upon which experience writes all knowledge." Empiricist Theory
Memory hook
TABULA RASA = TABlet ERASED completely clean. Clean slate.
When not to use
Do not use to mean forgetfulness or medical memory loss.
Fun facts
- Roman scribes used a flat wooden scraper to smooth warm wax clean, literally creating a physical 'tabula rasa'.
Related words
Explore more words
innate, preconception, expunge, conceptualize, empirical, a priori
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