"We are told by Philosophers, of no small Note, that the Mind is, at first, a kind of Tabula rasa, or like a Piece of blank Paper, that it bears no original Inscriptions, when we come into the World,--that we owe all the Characters afterwards drawn upon it, to the Impressions made upon our Senses; to Education, Custom, and the like."
— Fordyce, David (bap. 1711, d. 1751)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
[s.n.]
Date
1745
Metaphor
"We are told by Philosophers, of no small Note, that the Mind is, at first, a kind of Tabula rasa, or like a Piece of blank Paper, that it bears no original Inscriptions, when we come into the World,--that we owe all the Characters afterwards drawn upon it, to the Impressions made upon our Senses; to Education, Custom, and the like."
Metaphor in Context
[...] We are told by Philosophers, of no small Note, that the Mind is, at first, a kind of Tabula rasa, or like a Piece of blank Paper, that it bears no original Inscriptions, when we come into the World,--that we owe all the Characters afterwards drawn upon it, to the Impressions made upon our Senses; to Education, Custom, and the like. Be that as it will, certain it is, that a human Creature, untaught by Art, and undisciplined by Habit, does, of all other Creatures, lie the most open to Impressions from without, and is the most susceptible of every Form, Habit and Passion. Such a Creature is perceptive, and withal credulous; curious, yet easily imposed on. We have an innate, and almost insuperable Propensity to Imitation, and imbibe Manners as easily as we do Opinions. [...]
(vol I., pp. 114-5)
(vol I., pp. 114-5)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "tabula rasa" in ECCO
Citation
8 entries in ESTC (1745, 1748, 1753, 1755, 1757, 1768).
Fordyce, David. Dialogues Concerning Education. 2 vols. (London: [s.n.], 1745).
Fordyce, David. Dialogues Concerning Education. 2 vols. (London: [s.n.], 1745).
Theme
Blank Slate
Date of Entry
10/10/2006
Date of Review
10/10/2010
