Locke, John

John Locke is a 17th-century English philosopher who argued that knowledge is acquired and not inborn. He likened the mind to a blank slate, which he termed tabula rasa, that is written by experiences. This is in contrast to the ideas of René Descartes, who argued that knowledge is innate. Their philosophical exchange is known as the Nature-Nurture Debate.

Locke's idea about tabula rasa had a significant impact on the field of Psychology. It brought the attention to social and cultural factors that influence behavior (e.g., hunting skills in tribal communities) and affect cognition (e.g., parenting). Besides his stance for the nurture view, Locke also influenced the development of associationist psychology. His elaboration on experiential knowledge led associationists to study about knowledge in terms of the integration of the senses.