Ibn Tufail
In the 12th century, the Andalusian-Islamic philosopher and novelist, Ibn Tufail (known as Abubacer or Ebn Tophail in the West) demonstrated the theory of "tabula rasa" as a thought experiment through his Arabic philosophical novel, "Hayy ibn Yaqdhan", in which he depicts the development of the mind of a feral child "from a tabula rasa to that of an adult, in complete isolation from society" on a desert island, through experience alone.