Liliputin-4623

Only the state of tabula rasa of my mind gives me carte blanche to do whatever I want ..."
Donald J. Trump

Liliputins. What, the heck, is this?
http://stihi.ru/2021/11/24/7101


***


Tabula rasa ("blank slate") is the idea of individuals being born empty of any built-in mental content, so that all knowledge comes from later perceptions or sensory experiences. This idea is the central view posited in the theory of knowledge known as empiricism. Empiricists disagree with the doctrine of innatism or rationalism, which holds that the mind is born already in possession of certain knowledge. Proponents of the tabula rasa theory also favor the "nurture" side of the nature versus nurture debate when it comes to aspects of one's personality, social and emotional behavior, knowledge, and sapience.

Etymology
Tabula rasa is a Latin phrase often translated as clean slate in English and originates from the Roman tabula, a wax-covered tablet used for notes, which was blanked (rasa) by heating the wax and then smoothing it. This roughly equates to the English term "blank slate" (or, more literally, "erased slate") which refers to the emptiness of a slate prior to it being written on with chalk. Both may be renewed repeatedly, by melting the wax of the tablet or by erasing the chalk on the slate.

Tabula rasa, (Latin: “scraped tablet”—i.e., “clean slate”) in epistemology (theory of knowledge) and psychology, a supposed condition that empiricists have attributed to the human mind before ideas have been imprinted on it by the reaction of the senses to the external world of objects.

Comparison of the mind to a blank writing tablet occurs in Aristotle’s De anima (4th century BCE; On the Soul), and the Stoics as well as the Peripatetics (students at the Lyceum, the school founded by Aristotle) subsequently argued for an original state of mental blankness. Both the Aristotelians and the Stoics, however, emphasized those faculties of the mind or soul that, having been only potential or inactive before receiving ideas from the senses, respond to the ideas by an intellectual process and convert them into knowledge.


***
carte blanche
noun
Synonyms of carte blanche
: full discretionary (see DISCRETION sense 1a) power
was given carte blanche to furnish the house



Did you know?
Carte blanche is much like a blank check. In French, carte means "document" and blanche means "blank," so the phrase means "blank document." English retained that literal meaning: a carte blanche was a blank document signed in advance by one party and given to the other with permission to fill in conditions later. Much like blank check, carte blanche also took on the extended meaning "complete freedom."


Examples of carte blanche in a Sentence
We gave the decorator carte blanche to furnish the house.
Recent Examples on the Web
Among the many musicians, artists, dancers, and choreographers, the lingerie giant also reached out to fashion designers in each city and gave them carte blanche to design a special collection to be featured in the film.
—Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 7 Sep. 2023
Neither journalists nor activists, like Mr. Assange, have carte blanche to break the law in exercising their First Amendment rights.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 10 Feb. 2023
On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to give GM’s Cruise and Alphabet’s Waymo carte blanche to set their driverless cars loose on the streets of San Francisco, ferrying paying passengers around town just like any other taxi or ride-hailing service.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2023
Commissioned by Carlo Bilotti, the president of Jacqueline Cochran perfumes, the artist was given carte blanche to create both a perfume and a bottle design—and this treasured object d’art is the outcome.
—Kristin Limoges, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Aug. 2023
Atwell says she was given carte blanche to explore her character, Grace—a professional, though mysterious, thief.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 24 July 2023
Bergeron’s carte blanche and magnanimity — like his brilliant career — must have some endpoint.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2023
And with a creative carte blanche, Jeffrey decided to fold in another medium: music.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 30 June 2023
Advertisement The key to an avenue of Miami nightlife seldom experienced was the man in charge of the underground orchestra, a title that gave Jesse carte blanche below South Beach.
—Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2023
See Less
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'carte blanche.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.