Tabula Rasa

Means that the mind of the individual was born "blank", and emphasizing the individual's freedom to author his or her own soul. Each individual was free to define the content of his or her character - but his or her basic identity as a member of the human species cannot be so altered. It is from this presumption of a free, self-authored mind combined with an immutable human nature that the doctrine of "natural" rights is derived.