经验的边界：洛克“白板说”的认识论阐释与数字时代的认知困境

The Boundary of Experience: An Epistemological Interpretation of Locke’s “Tabula Rasa” and the Cognitive Dilemma in the Digital Age

摘要: 约翰·洛克在近代经验主义哲学中提出的“白板说”，确立了人类知识起源于经验的核心命题。在其认识论体系中，经验包含“感觉”与“反省”两个基本维度：感觉为心灵提供来自外部世界的原始材料，反省则使心灵能够对自身认知活动进行内在的观察、整理与建构。数字时代的到来深刻改变了人类经验的生成机制，传统意义上主动、开放、多元的经验获取方式，正逐渐被算法推荐机制重塑为定向输出、同质化且被动接收的认知经验。在这一技术逻辑的支配下，个体的认知边界不断收缩，认知结构日益固化。以洛克的“白板说”为理论视角，通过阐释其经验主义认识论的内在结构，揭示算法时代经验异化、认知封闭与反省能力弱化的现实困境。研究表明，激活洛克所强调的反省精神、重建主动认知与开放经验，是突破数字认知困境、恢复心灵主体性的可能路径。

Abstract: John Locke’s “Tabula Rasa” in modern empirical philosophy established the core proposition that human knowledge originates from experience. In its epistemological system, experience includes two basic dimensions: “sensation” and “reflection”: sensation provides the mind with raw materials from the external world, while reflection enables the mind to observe, organize, and construct its own cognitive activities internally. The arrival of the digital age has profoundly changed the mechanism of human experience generation. The traditional active, open, and diverse ways of acquiring experience are gradually being reshaped by algorithm recommendation mechanisms into a form of cognitive experience that is targeted, homogenized, and passively received. Under the domination of this technological logic, individuals’ cognitive boundaries continue to shrink and their cognitive structures become increasingly rigid. Using Locke’s “Tabula Rasa” as a theoretical perspective, this study aims to elucidate the internal structure of his empirical epistemology and reveal the practical difficulties of experience alienation, cognitive closure, and weakened reflective ability in the algorithmic era. Research has shown that activating Locke’s emphasis on reflective spirit, rebuilding active cognition, and open experiences is a possible path to breaking through the dilemma of digital cognition and restoring spiritual subjectivity.