Tabula rasa

Origin of "Tabula rasa"
The origin of the expression "Tabula rasa"was coined by the philosopher John Locke and dates back to era of the ancient Romans who used a reusable wax tablet called a 'tabula' to make notes. The tablet was made of wood and covered with a layer of wax that could be scraped leaving a smoothed tablet or a blank slate. The term 'rasa' means to erase or scrape.

Examples of "Tabula rasa" in Philosophy
The concept of "Tabula rasa" (a clean slate) has been used by many famous philosophers including Aristotle, Plato and Albertus Magnus. It was used by John Locke in his essay Essay Concerning Human Understanding who adopted it in his critique of the theory of innate ideas and his views on the  featureless, unformed mind.

Tabula rasa
This phrase or expression "Tabula rasa" meaning "Blank or clean slate" is also applied in situations in which there is a need, or an opportunity, to start again from the beginning..

"We must make a tabula rasa of the whole situation."

The Latin language spread throughout the western world and was taught in schools and spoken by the greatest scholars. The use of this expression was so useful and popular that it has survived the passing of time, the phrase is one of our 'Latin legacies'.

"I'm returning to college where I want to start with
a tabula rasa (clean slate)."

Tabula rasa

	Definition of famous Latin expression and phrase
	Means "Blank or clean slate"
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