The modern idea of the theory, however, is attributed mostly to John Locke 's expression of the idea in Essay Concerning Human Understanding (he uses the term "white paper '' in Book II, Chap. I, 2). In Locke 's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that at birth the (human) mind is a "blank slate '' without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one 's sensory experiences. The notion is central to Lockean empiricism. As understood by Locke, tabula rasa meant that the mind of the individual was born blank, and it also emphasized the freedom of individuals to author their own soul. Individuals are free to define the content of their character -- but basic identity as a member of the human species can not be altered. This presumption of a free, self - authored mind combined with an immutable human nature leads to the Lockean doctrine of "natural '' rights. Locke 's idea of tabula rasa is frequently compared with Thomas Hobbes 's viewpoint of human nature, in which humans are endowed with inherent mental content -- particularly with selfishness.
learner as tabula rasa is a presumption in
"natural '' rights