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When it comes to cognitive development, several theories have been put forth by many different philosophers, psychologists, and other scientists. The two most significant theories, which were first explored by the Greeks, were later debated between John Locke, and Rene Descartes. John Locke, a seventeenth-century English philosopher, argued against the belief that human beings are born with certain ideas already in their minds. He claimed that, on the contrary, the mind is a tabula rasa (in Latin, a "blank slate") until experience begins to "write" on it. He was quoted in saying: "the human mind begins as a white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas." (The Blank Slate, n.d.)

However, according to René Descartes, a seventeenth-century philosopher, physicist, physiologist, and mathematician, "a clear and distinct knowledge of the world can be constructed from resources innate to the human mind."(The Blank Slate, n.d.) In other words, an infant's mind is not simply a......

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