A milestone of child psychology, The Child's Conception of the World explores the ways in which the reasoning powers of young children differ from those of adults. What conceptions of the world does the child naturally form at the different stages of its development? To what extent does the child distinguish the external world from an internal or subjective world and what limits does he or she draw between the self and objective reality? These questions make up the first problem, the child's notion of reality. A second fundamental problem is the significance of explanations put forward by the child. What use does he or she make of the notions of cause and law? Is the form of explanation presented by the child a new type? These and like questions form the second problem, the child's notion of causality. Jacques Voneche, Director of the Piaget Archives in Geneva, Switzerland, provides a preface to this classic in which he reveals the provanance of The Child's Conception of the World within the context of Piaget's other work and the then-burgeoning field of developmental psychology.

The Language and Thought of the Child By JEAN PIAGET Professor at the University of Neuchatel and at the Institut J. J. Rousseau, Geneva Preiace by PROFESSOR E. CLAPAREDE NEW YORK HARCOURT, BRACE COMPANY, INC. LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER CO., LTD. 1926 Translated by MARJORIK WARDEN CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE ix FOREWORD . . . . . . . xix CHAPTER I THE FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE IN TWO CHILDREN OF SIX I I. The material ....... 5 I. An example of the talk taken down, 6 2. The functions of child language classified, 9 3. Repetition echolalia, ii 4. Monologue, 13 5. Collective monologue, 18 6. Adapted information, 19 7. Criticism and derision, 26 8. Commands, requests, threats, 27 9. Questions and answers, 28. II. Conclusions 34 10. The measure of ego-centrism, 34 n. Conclusion, 37 12. Results and hypotheses, 43. CHAPTER II TYPES AND STAGES IN THE CONVERSATION OF CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF FOUR AND SEVEN SO i. Check of the coefficient of ego-cenmsm, 51 2. Types of conversation between children, 52 3. Stage I Collective monologue, 56 4. Stage HA, First type Association with the action of others, 58 5. Stage UA, Second type Collaboration in action or in non vi CONTENTS abstract thought, 60 7. Stage I IB, First type Quarrelling, 65 8. Stage IIu, Second type Primi tive argument, 68 9, Stage IIlB Genuine argument, 7010, Conclusions, 73. CHAPTER III UNDERSTANDING AND VERBAL EXPLANATION IJEWEEN CHILDREN OF THE SAME AGE BETWEEN THE YEARS OF SIX AND EIGHT. 76 i. The method of experiment, 792. Parcelling out the material, 86 3. Numerical results, 944, Ego-centrism in the explanations given by one child to another, 99 5. The ideas of order and cause in the expositions given by the explainers, 1076. Thefactors of understanding, 119 7. Conclusion. The question of stages and the effort towards objectivity in the accounts given by children to one another, 124. CHAPTER IV SOME PECULIARITIES OF VERBAL UNDER STANDING IN THE CHILD BETWEEN THE AGES OF NINE AND ELEVEN 127 7. Verbal syncretism, 131 2, Syncretism of reasoning, 136 3. The need for justification at any price, 1454, Syncretism of understanding, 1505. Conclusion, 157. CHAPTER V THE QUESTIONS OF A CHILD OF SIX . . 1 62 I. f Whys 164 I. Principal types of whys, 166 2. Whys of causa explanation. Introduction and classification by material 171 3. Structure of the whys of explanation 1804. Whys of motivation 1885. a Whys of justification, 1 191 - 6, Conclusions, 197. LUJNIJiJNIb vn II. Questions not expressed under the form why . 199 7. Classification of Dels questions not expressed under the form, why, 199 8. Questions of causal explanation, 202 9. Questions of reality and history, 207 10. Ques tions about human actions and questions about rules, 214 ii. Questions of classification and calculation, 216. III. Conclusions 217 12. Statistical results, 217 13. The decline of precaus ality, 223 14. Conclusion. Categories of thought or logical functions in the child of seven, 227. APPENDIX 239 INDEX 245 PREFACE THE importance of this remarkable work deserves to be doubly emphasized, for its novelty consists both in the results obtained and in the method by which they have been reached. How does the child think How does he speak What are the characteristics of his judgment and of his reasoning For half a century the answer has been sought to these questions which are those which we meet with at the very threshold of child psychology. Ifphilosophers and biologists have bent their interest upon the soul of the child, it is because of the initial surprise they experienced at his logic and speech. In proof of this, we need only recall the words of Taine, of Darwin and of Egger, which are among the first recorded in the science of child logic. I cannot give a list here of all the works that have appeared since that period those of Preyer and of Sully, of P...

Although originally published in France in 1951 this English translation was not published until 1975. The book supplements the authors' previous publications on the development of thought in the child and is the result of two preoccupations: how thought that is in the process of formation acts to assimilate those aspects of experience that cannot be assimilated deductively - for example, the randomly mixed; and the necessity of discovering how the mental processes work in the totality of spontaneous and experimental searchings that make up what is called the problem of 'induction'. Induction is a sifting of our experiences to determine what depends on regularity, what on law, and what on chance. The authors examine the formation of the physical aspects of the notion of chance; they study groups of random subjects and of 'special' subjects; and they analyse the development of combining operations which contributes to determining the relationship between chance, probability, and the operating mechanisms of the mind.

Originally published in English in 1976, the book draws on and extends our knowledge of the process of learning. The subject of the study is the general stage in a child's development that comes between his successful performance of an activity without knowing how he did it - that is, what he had to do in order to succeed - and the times when he becomes aware of what went into that action. The book reports the results of experiments conducted at the Centre of Genetic Epistemology. Children, ranging in age between four and adolescence, were asked to perform such tasks as walking on all fours, playing tiddlywinks, building a ramp for a toy car. They were then asked to explain how they had performed the task, and in some cases, to instruct the interviewer. Their answers show a number of surprising inaccuracies in the child's ability to grasp the nature of what he has done. Taking a broad view of his results, Piaget shows that they reveal several stages in the gradual development of the child's conceptualization of his actions. In analysing each stage, Piaget argues that the child's concept of his own action cannot be considered a simple matter of 'enlightenment', but must actively be reconstructed from his experience. This view has always been at the core of Piaget's work, and a new area of the child's mental world is here given definitive treatment.

This book was first published in 1979.

This book was first published in 1970.

This book was first published in 1969.

This book was first published in 1969.

Our encounters with the physical world are filled with miraculous puzzles-wind appears from somewhere, heavy objects (like oil tankers) float on oceans, yet smaller objects go to the bottom of our water-filled buckets. As adults, instead of confronting a whole world, we are reduced to driving from one parking garage to another. The Child's Conception of Physical Causality, part of the very beginning of the ground-breaking work of the Swiss naturalist Jean Piaget, is filled with creative experimental ideas for probing the most sophisticated ways of thinking in children. The strength of Piaget's research is evident in this collection of empirical data, systematically organized by tasks that illuminate how things work. Piaget's data are remarkably rich. In his new introduction, Jaan Valsiner observes that Piaget had no grand theoretical aims, yet the book's simple power cannot be ignored. Piaget's great contribution to developmental psychology was his "clinical method"-a tactic that integrated relevant aspects of naturalistic experiment, interview, and observation. Through this systematic inquiry, we gain insight into children's thinking. Reading Piaget will encourage the contemporary reader to think about the unity of psychological phenomena and their theoretical underpinnings. His wealth of creative experimental ideas probes into the most sophisticated ways of thinking in children. Technologies change, yet the creative curiosity of children remains basically unhindered by the consumer society. Piaget's data preserve the reality of the original phenomena. As such, this work will provide a wealth of information for developmental psychologists and those involved in the field of experimental science. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is known for investigations of thought processes. He was professor at Geneva University (1929-1954) and director of the International Center for Epistemology (1955-1980). He is the author of The Language and Thought of the Child, Judgment and Reasoning in the Child, The Origin of Intelligence in Children, and The Early Growth of Logic in the Child. Jaan Valsiner is professor of psychology at Clark University, and a recognized authority on the life and work of Piaget.

Routledge is now re-issuing this prestigious series of 204 volumes originally published between 1910 and 1965. The titles include works by key figures such asC.G. Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Otto Rank, James Hillman, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney and Susan Isaacs. Each volume is available on its own, as part of a themed mini-set, or as part of a specially-priced 204-volume set. A brochure listing each title in the "International Library of Psychology" series is available upon request.

Routledge is now re-issuing this prestigious series of 204 volumes originally published between 1910 and 1965. The titles include works by key figures such asC.G. Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Otto Rank, James Hillman, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney and Susan Isaacs. Each volume is available on its own, as part of a themed mini-set, or as part of a specially-priced 204-volume set. A brochure listing each title in the "International Library of Psychology" series is available upon request.

Routledge is now re-issuing this prestigious series of 204 volumes originally published between 1910 and 1965. The titles include works by key figures such asC.G. Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Otto Rank, James Hillman, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney and Susan Isaacs. Each volume is available on its own, as part of a themed mini-set, or as part of a specially-priced 204-volume set. A brochure listing each title in the "International Library of Psychology" series is available upon request.

Series Information:
International Library of Psychology

Routledge is now re-issuing this prestigious series of 204 volumes originally published between 1910 and 1965. The titles include works by key figures such asC.G. Jung, Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, Otto Rank, James Hillman, Erich Fromm, Karen Horney and Susan Isaacs. Each volume is available on its own, as part of a themed mini-set, or as part of a specially-priced 204-volume set. A brochure listing each title in the "International Library of Psychology" series is available upon request.
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First Published in 1999. Readers will find in this book no direct analysis of child morality as it is practised in home and school life or in children's societies. It is the moral judgment that we propose to investigate, not moral behaviour or sentiments. With this aim in view, a large number of children from the Geneva and Neuchatel schools were questioned and held conversations with them, similar to those we had had before on their conception of the world and of causality. The present volume contains the results of these conversations.

First published in 1999. This volume is the third of a series devoted to the first years of the child's development, the two others being concerned with the beginnings of intelligence and the child's construction of reality (La naissance de intelligence chez Venfant and La construction du reel chez Venfant). Although this book contains frequent references to the two other volumes, which deal with the same three children and study the relationships between their mental activities, it nevertheless constitutes in itself an independent and complete study

Jean Piaget was one of the most salient and inspirational figures in psychological and educational research this century. He was prolific, authoring or editing over eighty books and numerous journal papers which have spawned a huge and fertile continuation of his research over the decades. A major component of any course on children's psychological development and a research tradition that is expanding, scholars need access to the original texts rather than relying on secondhand accounts. "Jean Piaget: Selected Works" is a chance to acquire key original texts, most of which have been previously unavailable for several years.

Jean Piaget was one of the most salient and inspirational figures in psychological and educational research of the 20th century. He was also prolific, authoring or editing over 80 books and numerous journals and papers which spawned a continuation of his work over the following decades. His work now compromises a major component of many courses on children's psychological development and in a research tradition which is expanding, scholars may need access to the original texts rather than secondhand accounts. This volume is the third of nine reproducing Piaget's original works - they are also available as a boxed set.

Jean Piaget was one of the most salient and inspirational figures in psychological and educational research this century. He was prolific, authoring or editing over eighty books and numerous journal papers which have spawned a huge and fertile continuation of his research over the decades. A major component of any course on children's psychological development and a research tradition that is expanding, scholars need access to the original texts rather than relying on secondhand accounts. "Jean Piaget: Selected Works" is a chance to acquire key original texts, most of which have been previously unavailable for several years.

Jean Piaget was one of the most salient and inspirational figures in psychological and educational research this century. He was prolific, authoring or editing over eighty books and numerous journal papers which have spawned a huge and fertile continuation of his research over the decades. A major component of any course on children's psychological development and a research tradition that is expanding, scholars need access to the original texts rather than relying on secondhand accounts. Jean Piaget: Selected Works is a chance to acquire key original texts, most of which have been previously unavailable for several years.

Jean Piaget was one of the most salient and inspirational figures in psychological and educational research this century. He was prolific, authoring or editing over eighty books and numerous journal papers which have spawned a huge and fertile continuation of his research over the decades. A major component of any course on children's psychological development and a research tradition that is expanding, scholars need access to the original texts rather than relying on secondhand accounts." Jean Piaget: Selected Works" is a chance to acquire key original texts, most of which have been previously unavailable for several years.

Jean Piaget was one of the most salient and inspirational figures in psychological and educational research this century. He was prolific, authoring or editing over eighty books and numerous journal papers which have spawned a huge and fertile continuation of his research over the decades. A major component of any course on children's psychological development and a research tradition that is expanding, scholars need access to the original texts rather than relying on secondhand accounts. "Jean Piaget: Selected Works" is a chance to acquire key original texts, most of which have been previously unavailable for several years.

Jean Piaget was one of the most salient and inspirational figures in psychological and educational research this century. He was prolific, authoring or editing over eighty books and numerous journal papers which have spawned a huge and fertile continuation of his research over the decades. A major component of any course on children's psychological development and a research tradition that is expanding, scholars need access to the original texts rather than relying on secondhand accounts. "Jean Piaget: Selected Works" is a chance to acquire key original texts, most of which have been previously unavailable for several years.