John Locke once said, "I am thus a clean slate eagerly awaiting to be written upon, an impressionable sponge ready to feast on rational knowledge (1)." This quote shows the basis of his philosophy on the human mind at birth. John Locke uses the term "Tabula Rasa" which is a Latin phrase that means "white paper (1)." He believed that through experience you write your persona on these blank tablets of the mind. He continues by saying that things in life such as reflection and perception act like "windows" which let light into the understanding.
             I personally like Locke's views when it comes to his hypothesis that everything around us gives us the basis of our understanding. The way he elaborates on this is that he discuses morality and how we make the law that sets a moral standard for which you can get the subject down with mathematic precision. He explains that our understanding of the outside world is limited to what we can see, feel, touch, etc. and that it's not our place to say anything about God because we can't see or touch him. Locke also has notions on the soul and how it does not exist (2).
             Now I think my personal opinions reflect John Locke's theories in that I believe people are a product of their environment. To not agree with or give credit to this statement is like saying a child born in middle class America, or a child born in to poverty stricken environment are going to have the same values and perceptions of life or similar personalities. To myself that seems like it wouldn't work in real life. I will not argue with the concept of basic instinct, although I believe it only takes you as far enough to survive and will not affect your outlook on the world. Your experiences and exposure to life and the world around you mold your mental framework along with you as an individual person. Every time you wake up in the morning there is something new to ...