Tabula rasa

The nature versus nurture argument is, and has been, one of the most hotly debated topics in modern science for decades. The argument of whether humans start out as a “blank slate” or Tabula Rasa, as opposed to being predisposed with certain environmental effects out of their control transcends even natural science and enters into the realms of philosophy and psychology. It is nearly undeniable that the ideas of Mendelian inheritance are sound theories, yet the argument for…

New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.” Philosopher John Locke had no problem expressing his beliefs and new ideas to the world. For this reason, he is one of the most influential idealists and writers in history. His strong ideas about politics and the government influenced a major intellectual movement in Europe. These ideas, along with his strong,opinionated writing, have laid out the principles the United…

What constitutes effective practice in Secondary (KS3/KS4) Mathematics teaching? “It is noble to teach oneself; it is still nobler to teach others.” -- Mark Twain “Mathematics is a more powerful instrument of knowledge than any other that has been bequeathed to us by human agency.” -- René Descartes Introduction In the ‘good old days’ the emphasis was on “the three Rs: reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic”.x More recent developments have emphasized the core of literacy (“the ability to read,…

Different opinions are almost as common as ants or grass blades. They’re everywhere, and show up in many different topics. Even when given the same information or base knowledge, people can form different opinions. People can have completely different ideas about what a painting represents, although they are seeing the same painting. This is due, in part, to the different perspectives that people view the world with. It also has to do with the emotional response that art and something like…

Throughout history there has been many different psychologists who have each theorised their own different approaches to further the knowledge of human behaviour and psychology; undertaking several social and scientific experiments in an effort to provide validity to their studies. Taking a closer look into the ‘Behaviourism’ approach and the Social Learning Theory one can describe and evaluate each perspective to help better understand the theories and gain and slight insight into the validity.…

Hoffman compares the Poet’s education to Locke’s theory of knowledge. He affords special attention to Shelley’s statement (2003: 92) in the Preface, ‘The magnificence and beauty of the external world sinks profoundly into the frame of his conceptions’. Hoffman (1933: 12) compares Shelley’s work to Locke’s theory by arguing that Shelley’s words are ‘a hauntingly suggestive epitome of the account, in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, of how sensations become the origin of both simple and…

Throughout her life, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1787-1851) had faced numerous traumatic experiences with parenthood- i.e her mother 's and her children 's deaths- which engendered different interpretations of Frankenstein. Analogous to Shelley ' s life, actions in Frankenstein have illustrated the need of parental figures in a child 's life; consequently, utilizing Sigmund Freud 's theories will substantiate that self-identification only flourishes through a healthy parent-child relationship,…

More specifically, in biology at Key stage 3 (KS3) pupils are expected after three years of study to understand ‘the fundamentals of the structure and function of living things, material cycles and energy, interactions and interdependencies and genetics and evolution’. In chemistry it is expected that pupils be taught about ‘the nature of matter, about the atom, chemical reactions, the periodic table and the Earth and the atmosphere’. In physics, the basics of physics should be taught,…

It is ironic that one of the most heavily debated topics in the psychology world is one that that is not of the mind. Both nurture and nature are external affects. They both indirectly effect psychological development, but they are still nevertheless external variables in the scheme of things. This said, the debate on the matter continues. Which has a heavier hand on the outcome of psychological development in adolescent humans? Are all humans hard-wired to have the physiological traits of our…

which were implemented, while many remained theoretical. John Locke, an Englishman provided much of the intellectual inspiration for the Enlightenment. In his Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), Locke argued every person is born with a tabula rasa, a blank mind. Every other historical politician used his ideology as a basis for their own. Montesquieu, for example, criticized the Church and French monarchy in his first work the Persian Letters. Through his analysis of the French…