tabula rasa

the idea that at birth the mind is like a “blank tablet” (from Latin) and that all knowledge is subsequently derived from sensory experience. The notion of innate ideas is thus dismissed as a fiction. The phrase is mainly associated with John Locke, although he never in fact used it: Locke’s actual phrase was “white paper.” See empiricism.

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Psychology term of the day

January 30th 2025

Meckel’s syndrome

a congenital disorder marked by microcephaly; eye, ear, and olfactory abnormalities; and varying degrees of brain-tissue anomalies. Some affected children show premature closure of skull sutures. The patients either are stillborn or die in early infancy. [Johann Friedrich Meckel (1781–1833), German anatomist]