—The “State of Nature”
—He believed that all men were equal in the state of nature because they were “creatures of the same species and rank”
—Tabula rasa
—We started life in a “blank slate” upon which environment and experience would transcribe ideas and beliefs. Locke saw human nature as something that was externally determined rather than internally determined
locke portrait
Bullet #1  John Locke, another English theorist, also disagreed with the notion of divine right; however, he held a very different view of human nature than Hobbes did. Locke posited that in the past, before people formed societies, they lived in a “state of nature.” He believed that all men were equal in the state of nature because they were “creatures of the same species and rank” with the “same advantages” and “same faculties.”

Bullet #2  Locke also had an interest in how humans learn. In his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, he argued that the mind of a newborn baby was a “tabula rasa”—a “blank slate” upon which environment and experience would transcribe ideas and beliefs. Locke saw human nature as something that was externally determined rather than internally determined; correspondingly, he stressed the importance of education.