work_id,theme,provenance,created_at,text,reviewed_on,id,comments,metaphor,dictionary,updated_at,context
4710,Blank Slate; Lockean Philosophy,"Searching ""tabula rasa"" in ECCO",2006-10-10 00:00:00 UTC,"The same Arguments which that truly great and judicious Philosopher, Mr. Locke, made use of in order to prove that there were no innate Ideas, will, I think, hold full as strong, and conclude with equal Force and Truth, against all implanted Appetites, Affections, &c. whatsoever. If the Mind be as it were a rasa tabula in respect of the one, the same Reasons make it extremely probable that she must be so in respect of the other likewise. For if God has endow'd Mankind with such Faculties and Powers, as by a proper Cultivation and Use, will enable them to acquire those Affections and Dispositions of Mind, and in a Degree suited to their present dependent Situation in Life, whence arises the Necessity of their being innate? As he has given Man the Means within himself of attaining them, it seems superfluous in the Deity, to impress them originally, and in its first Formation on the Mind, who, as a wise and good Being, will be sure to act in every Particular, for some End, suitable to, and becoming his infinite Perfections. [...]
(p. 5)",,12426,"","""If the Mind be as it were a rasa tabula in respect of the one, the same Reasons make it extremely probable that she must be so in respect of the other likewise""",Writing,2009-09-14 19:36:58 UTC,""
4723,Blank Slate; Lockean Philosophy,"Searching ""tabula rasa"" in ECCO",2006-10-10 00:00:00 UTC,"But Mr J--k--n tells us, ""That the Soul is like a Tabula Rasa, not written upon, but capable of receiving Characters.""
All outward, sensual worldly, and perishing Knowledge may be excited, or raised up in the Soul, by Sensation and Reflection. But if the Soul was like a Tabula Rasa, or a fair Sheet of Paper, (as Mr L -- says) it would be no more capable of having Knowledge of any kind excited in it, than a Sheet of Paper can have Knowledge excited in it: No! it is from the Soul's being naturally of a rational and knowing Nature, or from the Soul's natural Power of reflecting, in a rational Way, upon the Ideas received by the Senses, that the Soul has outward Knowledge excited and opened in it: But then such a Power or reflecting, in a rational way, upon sensible Ideas, and of growing in Truth and Knowledge, (which Power Brutes have not) can no more be conceived to exist without Reason or Ideas, than a material Being or Faculty can be conceived to exist without Matter. Nor can I see how any Man that acts under the Influence of Conscience, can believe, or affirm the contrary.
(p. 34)",,12459,"•Mr Jack-- is John Jackson, author of A Dissertation on Matter and Spirit (1735).
•I've included twice: Tabula Rasa and Paper","""But if the Soul was like a Tabula Rasa, or a fair Sheet of Paper, (as Mr L -- says) it would be no more capable of having Knowledge of any kind excited in it, than a Sheet of Paper can have Knowledge excited in it.""",Writing,2009-09-14 19:37:01 UTC,""
4750,Blank Slate; Lockean Philosophy,"Searching ""tabula rasa"" in ECCO",2006-10-10 00:00:00 UTC,"[...] And, unless the Mind be timeously prepar'd for wholesome Instruction by previous Culture, unless good Dispositions are form'd and nourished in their docile Years, we shall find all the Instructions we give them hereafter will avail but little. This will, indeed, be like sowing good Seed among Thorns, or uncultivated Ground; where, if it should take Root, it is presently choak'd by the opposite illiberate Temperature. And, as the Mind cannot long continue a Tabula rasa, a meer Blank, but some Images will be impress'd upon it, we ought therefore to form good Habits and Propensities to Virtue. As under this Head, no- [end page 16] thing better can be said, give me Leave to quote Mr. Locke's own Words.
(pp. 16-7)",,12572,"","""And, as the Mind cannot long continue a Tabula rasa, a meer Blank, but some Images will be impress'd upon it, we ought therefore to form good Habits and Propensities to Virtue.""",Writing,2009-09-14 19:37:08 UTC,""
4804,"",Searching in ECCO,2006-10-11 00:00:00 UTC,"35. But the Parable convinces more than the Argument. It represents to us Things instead of Ideas, and affects the Mind by a Picture rather than a Description in Words. This was suited to a numerous Audience of different Capacities and various Judgments, as well as the Subject, for every one could remember and reflect on the Parable; whereas few could have retained or carried away a whole Discourse. But there is nothing fallacious, nothing scenical or fictitious in this Parable, which will not hold when reduced to a Discourse. We have just seen the contrary of that, by actually translating it into the Language of Philosophy. I have taken notice of this to shew, that though our LORD (which is one strong Proof of his Divinity) preached to the Vulgar, yet his Doctrine would bear the Examination of the Sages. He spoke to the MANY, but in Terms that deserved the Admiration of the FEW. There is nothing more certain, that that there are two Kinds of Conviction, one flowing from a sudden and violent breaking-in of Truth, when the Understanding is as it were taken by Storm, and a Man's whole System of Thinking is changed in an Instant: the other a gradual, gentle, and slow stealing-in of Light, when the Judgment is as it were carried Inch by Inch, which however ends like the former, in an absolute Revolution. Our LORD uses both Methods at once, in order to fit his Disciples for their Duty, to open their Eyes, to extend their Views, to extirpate Prejudices, to make every Man's Mind a rasa Tabula, or as his own Phrase is, to make plain the Ways of the LORD. This was the true, the sole, the genuine Way of proceeding; for while carnal Desires, and such an over-weening Passion for Riches remained, their Breasts were barren Grounds, and thereby most unfit to receive the Seed of Divine Truths.
(p. 24)",,12849,"•ECCO notes, ""Sometimes attributed to George, Lord Lyttleton.""","""There is nothing more certain, that that there are two Kinds of Conviction, one flowing from a sudden and violent breaking-in of Truth, when the Understanding is as it were taken by Storm, and a Man's whole System of Thinking is changed in an Instant: the other a gradual, gentle, and slow stealing-in of Light, when the Judgment is as it were carried Inch by Inch, which however ends like the former, in an absolute Revolution.""","",2009-09-14 19:37:27 UTC,""
4804,Blank Slate,"Searching ""tabula rasa"" in ECCO",2006-10-11 00:00:00 UTC,"35. But the Parable convinces more than the Argument. It represents to us Things instead of Ideas, and affects the Mind by a Picture rather than a Description in Words. This was suited to a numerous Audience of different Capacities and various Judgments, as well as the Subject, for every one could remember and reflect on the Parable; whereas few could have retained or carried away a whole Discourse. But there is nothing fallacious, nothing scenical or fictitious in this Parable, which will not hold when reduced to a Discourse. We have just seen the contrary of that, by actually translating it into the Language of Philosophy. I have taken notice of this to shew, that though our LORD (which is one strong Proof of his Divinity) preached to the Vulgar, yet his Doctrine would bear the Examination of the Sages. He spoke to the MANY, but in Terms that deserved the Admiration of the FEW. There is nothing more certain, that that there are two Kinds of Conviction, one flowing from a sudden and violent breaking-in of Truth, when the Understanding is as it were taken by Storm, and a Man's whole System of Thinking is changed in an Instant: the other a gradual, gentle, and slow stealing-in of Light, when the Judgment is as it were carried Inch by Inch, which however ends like the former, in an absolute Revolution. Our LORD uses both Methods at once, in order to fit his Disciples for their Duty, to open their Eyes, to extend their Views, to extirpate Prejudices, to make every Man's Mind a rasa Tabula, or as his own Phrase is, to make plain the Ways of the LORD. This was the true, the sole, the genuine Way of proceeding; for while carnal Desires, and such an over-weening Passion for Riches remained, their Breasts were barren Grounds, and thereby most unfit to receive the Seed of Divine Truths.
(p. 24)",,12850,"•ECCO notes, ""Sometimes attributed to George, Lord Lyttleton.""","""Our LORD uses both Methods at once, in order to fit his Disciples for their Duty, to open their Eyes, to extend their Views, to extirpate Prejudices, to make every Man's Mind a rasa Tabula, or as his own Phrase is, to make plain the Ways of the LORD.""",Writing,2009-09-14 19:37:28 UTC,""
4804,"",Searching in ECCO,2006-10-11 00:00:00 UTC,"35. But the Parable convinces more than the Argument. It represents to us Things instead of Ideas, and affects the Mind by a Picture rather than a Description in Words. This was suited to a numerous Audience of different Capacities and various Judgments, as well as the Subject, for every one could remember and reflect on the Parable; whereas few could have retained or carried away a whole Discourse. But there is nothing fallacious, nothing scenical or fictitious in this Parable, which will not hold when reduced to a Discourse. We have just seen the contrary of that, by actually translating it into the Language of Philosophy. I have taken notice of this to shew, that though our LORD (which is one strong Proof of his Divinity) preached to the Vulgar, yet his Doctrine would bear the Examination of the Sages. He spoke to the MANY, but in Terms that deserved the Admiration of the FEW. There is nothing more certain, that that there are two Kinds of Conviction, one flowing from a sudden and violent breaking-in of Truth, when the Understanding is as it were taken by Storm, and a Man's whole System of Thinking is changed in an Instant: the other a gradual, gentle, and slow stealing-in of Light, when the Judgment is as it were carried Inch by Inch, which however ends like the former, in an absolute Revolution. Our LORD uses both Methods at once, in order to fit his Disciples for their Duty, to open their Eyes, to extend their Views, to extirpate Prejudices, to make every Man's Mind a rasa Tabula, or as his own Phrase is, to make plain the Ways of the LORD. This was the true, the sole, the genuine Way of proceeding; for while carnal Desires, and such an over-weening Passion for Riches remained, their Breasts were barren Grounds, and thereby most unfit to receive the Seed of Divine Truths.
(p. 24)",,12851,"•ECCO notes, ""Sometimes attributed to George, Lord Lyttleton.""
•I've included twice: Ground and Seed","""This was the true, the sole, the genuine Way of proceeding; for while carnal Desires, and such an over-weening Passion for Riches remained, their Breasts were barren Grounds, and thereby most unfit to receive the Seed of Divine Truths.""",Writing,2009-09-14 19:37:28 UTC,""
4805,Blank Slate,"Searching ""tabula rasa"" in ECCO",2006-10-11 00:00:00 UTC,"The Human Mind, the pure Emanation of the Divinity, can never be inherently possessed of those Affections, which are the Origin of moral Evil; the Author of our Being, when he breathers into us the Breath of Life, and speaks us into Existence, leaves our Minds a pure Tabula rasa capable of any Impression, and free from all innate Prepossessions in favour of Vice or vicious Habits, but more susceptible from its own nature of virtuous and social Affections. The Soul is created in a State of moral Rectitude, but receives its vicious Tinctures from the Body, and is warped into its perverse and crooked Disposition by [end page 9] the Influence of the Senses. Consequently, whenever a Man attempts to subdue his Passions, and to put them under the regular Government of their natural sovereign Reason, the irrational Part must submit to the rational, the Brute must yield to the Man, and the Soul in the Event gain the Superiority over every Passion or Appetite, however deeply rooted in the Mind.
(pp. 9-10)",,12852,"","The ""Author of our Being, when he breathers into us the Breath of Life, and speaks us into Existence, leaves our Minds a pure Tabula rasa capable of any Impression, and free from all innate Prepossessions in favour of Vice or vicious Habits, but more susceptible from its own nature of virtuous and social Affections""",Writing,2009-09-14 19:37:28 UTC,""
4805,"",Searching in ECCO,2006-10-11 00:00:00 UTC,"The Human Mind, the pure Emanation of the Divinity, can never be inherently possessed of those Affections, which are the Origin of moral Evil; the Author of our Being, when he breathers into us the Breath of Life, and speaks us into Existence, leaves our Minds a pure Tabula rasa capable of any Impression, and free from all innate Prepossessions in favour of Vice or vicious Habits, but more susceptible from its own nature of virtuous and social Affections. The Soul is created in a State of moral Rectitude, but receives its vicious Tinctures from the Body, and is warped into its perverse and crooked Disposition by [end page 9] the Influence of the Senses. Consequently, whenever a Man attempts to subdue his Passions, and to put them under the regular Government of their natural sovereign Reason, the irrational Part must submit to the rational, the Brute must yield to the Man, and the Soul in the Event gain the Superiority over every Passion or Appetite, however deeply rooted in the Mind.
(pp. 9-10)",,12853,"","""The Soul is created in a State of moral Rectitude, but receives its vicious Tinctures from the Body, and is warped into its perverse and crooked Disposition by the Influence of the Senses""","",2009-09-14 19:37:28 UTC,""
4805,"",Searching in ECCO,2006-10-11 00:00:00 UTC,"The Human Mind, the pure Emanation of the Divinity, can never be inherently possessed of those Affections, which are the Origin of moral Evil; the Author of our Being, when he breathers into us the Breath of Life, and speaks us into Existence, leaves our Minds a pure Tabula rasa capable of any Impression, and free from all innate Prepossessions in favour of Vice or vicious Habits, but more susceptible from its own nature of virtuous and social Affections. The Soul is created in a State of moral Rectitude, but receives its vicious Tinctures from the Body, and is warped into its perverse and crooked Disposition by [end page 9] the Influence of the Senses. Consequently, whenever a Man attempts to subdue his Passions, and to put them under the regular Government of their natural sovereign Reason, the irrational Part must submit to the rational, the Brute must yield to the Man, and the Soul in the Event gain the Superiority over every Passion or Appetite, however deeply rooted in the Mind.
(pp. 9-10)",,12854,"•I've include thrice: Rule and Subjection, Sovereign and Root","""Consequently, whenever a Man attempts to subdue his Passions, and to put them under the regular Government of their natural sovereign Reason, the irrational Part must submit to the rational, the Brute must yield to the Man, and the Soul in the Event gain the Superiority over every Passion or Appetite, however deeply rooted in the Mind""","",2009-09-14 19:37:28 UTC,""
4807,Blank Slate; Lockean Philosophy,"Searching ""tabula rasa"" in ECCO",2006-10-11 00:00:00 UTC,"[...] These Definitions or Descriptions of Ideas will, I believe, appear very loose to thinking Persons, and what few Readers will imagine Mr. Lock meant by the Word Idea. And he labours hard to prove that these Ideas are not innate, but would have our Souls like a Blank Paper, a Rasa Tabula, ready to receive Ideas, but void of all; And affirms that these Ideas are the Foundation of all our Knowledge; and that they are conveyed to the Mind by external Objects.
But yet these Ideas are not in the external Objects.",,12858,"","""And he labours hard to prove that these Ideas are not innate, but would have our Souls like a Blank Paper, a Rasa Tabula, ready to receive Ideas, but void of all; And affirms that these Ideas are the Foundation of all our Knowledge; and that they are conveyed to the Mind by external Objects.""",Writing,2009-09-14 19:37:28 UTC,""