The Philosophical Baby

Description

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 smarter, 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. Contents Cover About the Author Dedication Title Page Introduction HOW CHILDREN CHANGE THE WORLD HOW CHILDHOOD CHANGES THE WORLD A ROAD MAP 1. Possible Worlds: Why Do Children Pretend? THE POWER OF COUNTERFACTUALS COUNTERFACTUALS IN CHILDREN: PLANNING THE FUTURE RECONSTRUCTING THE PAST IMAGINING THE POSSIBLE IMAGINATION AND CAUSATION CHILDREN AND CAUSATION CAUSES AND POSSIBILITIES MAPS AND BLUEPRINTS CAUSAL MAPS DETECTING BLICKETS 2. Imaginary Companions: How Does Fiction Tell the Truth? DUNZER AND CHARLIE RAVIOLI NORMAL WEIRDNESS MAKING A MAP OF THE MIND IMAGINARY COMPANIONS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AUTISM, CAUSATION, AND IMAGINATION MAPS AND FICTIONS WHY MINDS AND THINGS ARE DIFFERENT SOUL ENGINEERS THE WORK OF PLAY 3. Escaping Plato’s Cave: How Children, Scientists, and Computers Discover the Truth OBSERVATION: BABY STATISTICS EXPERIMENTATION: MAKING THINGS HAPPEN DEMONSTRATION: WATCHING MOM’S EXPERIMENTS UNDERSTANDING MINDS 4. What Is It Like to Be a Baby? Consciousness and Attention EXTERNAL ATTENTION INTERNAL ATTENTION BABY ATTENTION YOUNG CHILDREN AND ATTENTION WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A BABY? TRAVEL AND MEDITATION 5. Who Am I? Memory, Self, and the Babbling Stream CONSCIOUSNESS AND MEMORY CHILDREN AND MEMORY KNOWING HOW YOU KNOW CONSTRUCTING MYSELF CHILDREN AND THE FUTURE THE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS LIVING IN THE MOMENT INTERNAL CONSCIOUSNESS, FREE ASSOCIATION, HYPNAGOGIC THOUGHT, AND INSIGHT MEDITATION WHY DOES CONSCIOUSNESS CHANGE? A MAP OF MYSELF: CONSTRUCTING CONSCIOUSNESS 6. Heraclitus’ River and the Romanian Orphans: How Does Our Early Life Shape Our Later Life? LIFE CYCLES THE PARADOX OF INHERITANCE HOW BABIES RAISE THEIR PARENTS 7. Learning to Love: Attachment and Identity THEORIES OF LOVE BEYOND MOTHERS: SOCIAL MONOGAMY AND ALLOMOTHERING LIFE’S WEATHER THE CHILD INSIDE 8. Love and Law: The Origins of Morality IMITATION AND EMPATHY ANGER AND VENGEANCE BEYOND EMPATHY PSYCHOPATHS TROLLEYOLOGY NOT LIKE ME WIDENING THE CIRCLE FOLLOWING THE RULES BABY RULES DOING IT ON PURPOSE RULES AS CAUSES THE PERILS OF RULES THE WISDOM OF HUCK FINN 9. Babies and the Meaning of Life AWE MAGIC LOVE CONCLUSION Notes Acknowledgments Bibliography Index Copyright