Ibn Tufayl is stopped at the postulation of the first item of his premiss: there is no “basis,” say the psychologists, out of which any essence could arise. Man’s given to begin with is a tabula rasa, a blank slate. What he will be depends on the circumstances of his life. The pessimism of Golding and the optimism of Ibn Tufayl are both set aside. It is as wrong to say man is essentially evil as it is to say he’s essentially good—man is essentially nothing.
