The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us about Truth, Love & the Meaning of Life

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Alison Gopnik

The Philosophical Baby

What Children's Minds Tell Us about Truth, Love & the Meaning of Life

Alison Gopnik

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English

The Bodley Head Ltd
15 August 2009

Child & developmental psychology; Cognition & cognitive psychology; Health & Self-Help

A groundbreaking exploration into the minds of babies - and into what means to be human.

For most of us, having a baby is the most profound, intense, and fascinating experience of our lives. Now scientists and philosophers are starting to appreciate babies, too.

The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of infants and young children. Scientists used to believe that babies were irrational, and that their thinking and experience were limited. Recently, they have discovered that babies learn more, create more, care more, and experience more than we could ever have imagined. And there is good reason to believe that babies are actually cleverer, more thoughtful, and even more conscious than adults.

This new science holds answers to some of the deepest and oldest questions about what it means to be human. A new baby's captivated gaze at her mother's face lays the foundations for love and morality. A toddler's unstoppable explorations of his playpen hold the key to scientific discovery. A three-year-old's wild make-believe explains how we can imagine the future, write novels, and invent new technologies.

Alison Gopnik - a leading psychologist and philosopher, as well as a mother - explains the groundbreaking new psychological, neuroscientific, and philosophical developments in our understanding of very young children, transforming our understanding of how babies see the world, and in turn promoting a deeper appreciation for the role of parents.

By: Alison Gopnik
Imprint: The Bodley Head Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 375g
ISBN: 9781847921079
ISBN 10: 1847921078
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 15 August 2009
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Alison Gopnik is an internationally renowned authority on children's learning, the author of over 100 articles and the co-author of two books: Words, Thoughts And Theories (1998) and the acclaimed How Babies Think (2001). She has also written for the Times Literary Supplement, the New York Review of Books, the New York Times and was Associate Editor of Child Development (the leading journal in the field). She is a Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley.

Reviews for The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us about Truth, Love & the Meaning of Life

Her pages are packed with provocative observations and cunning insights. I'd highly recommend this fascinating book to any parent of a young child - and, indeed anyone who has ever been a baby -- Josh Lacey * Guardian * The Philosophical Baby has interesting things to tell us. They are clearly expressed and thought-provoking. And they do their work on the reader * Dailiy Mail * An astonishingly interesting book... [It] teaches us a tremendous amount about the human condition and how the mind is made -- Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide Richly provocative and endlessly insightful... This book is at once touching, eloquent and masterful in its fascinating revelations about what makes us human -- Frank J. Sulloway, author of Born to Rebel: Birth Order; Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives Absorbing, smart and enjoyable... Parents and scientists will enjoy the insights but so will anyone who has thought about the question of what it means to be human -- Lisa Randall, author of Warped Passages: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions