# Tabula Rasa Tabula rasa ("blank slate") is the philosophical idea that humans are born without innate mental content—all knowledge comes from experience and sensory perception. Associated with John Locke's empiricism, the concept shaped Enlightenment thinking and 20th-century [[Behaviorism]]. [[John B. Watson]] claimed he could shape any infant into any type of specialist. [[Steven Pinker]]'s *[[The Blank Slate]]* argues this view is empirically false: [[Behavioral Genetics]], [[Evolutionary Psychology]], and neuroscience show the mind has innate structure. The debate connects to [[Nature vs Nurture]]—modern consensus is that both genes and environment matter, and the mind is neither blank nor rigidly predetermined. ## Key Positions | Position | View | |----------|------| | Locke/Empiricism | Mind is blank slate | | Behaviorism | Environment shapes all | | Modern synthesis | Innate + environmental interaction | ## References - Pinker, Steven. *[[The Blank Slate]]* (2002) ## Related - [[The Blank Slate]] - [[Nature vs Nurture]] - [[Behaviorism]] - [[Evolutionary Psychology]]