# KEHOME/knowledge/theory/Epistemology/TabulaRasa.html # Jun/28/2002 # #=======================# # Tabula Rasa # # # # Richard H. McCullough # #=======================# Reference: Ayn Rand, "The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution", Revised Edition, New American Library, 1975. "The Comprachicos", page 190. At birth, a child's mind is tabula rasa; he has the potential of awareness -- the mechanism of a human consciousness -- but no content. Speaking metaphorically, he has a camera with an extremely sensitive, unexposed film (his conscious mind), and an extremely complex computer waiting to be programmed (his subconscious). Both are blank. What I want to do here is to define the context embodied
in the "camera" and "computer" of the human mind.
The context includes the Axiomatic Propositions discussed previously.
We next add the fundamental concepts of knowledge at space=s, time=t, view = tabula rasa { knowledge := man do identify od existent done knowledge unit is list of proposition knit is knowledge unit # abbreviation proposition is list of word word means concept, unit unit isu concept unit means existent # referent sensation := man do sense od existent done percept := man do perceive od sensation done # remember concept := man do classify od percept done characteristic := man do identify od concept done value := man do measure od characteristic done concept isi unit1,unit2,... with value # integrate species1,species2,... isd concept with value # differentiate } and the other concepts which characterize the mechanism of a human consciousness causality volition and the grammatical relationships of the knowledge representation language, KR. For example: if, then, else, fi, every As a concession to practical efficiency, the tabula_rasa view includes some other commonly used concepts, e.g., animal plant object live move birth death purpose number file list sequence set hierarchy lattice group
Here's the final tabula rasa hierarchy and definitions.

Knowledge Explorer has its own context of attributes and actions,
which govern its interaction with the user. These are described
in Knowledge Explorer and KE attributes and actions.