Jean Piaget

02 Mar 2004 17:35

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Swiss psychologist, most famous for his studies of the development of thought in children. Much of his most famous work was done in the 1920s and 1930s, making him, so to speak, a pre-cognitivist --- certainly many of the early cognitive scientist saw him as an ancestor and inspirer. (He for his part hired a fair number of their students, and other disciples of the early cyberneticians.) He had also had some influence on structuralism --- I dare say not enough.

This tells you absolutely nothing about his actual ideas, of course...

Recommended:
• Seymour Papert, Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas
• JP
  • Genetic Epistemology
  • Insights and Illusions of Philosophy
  • Structuralism [See under Structuralism (where else?)]

To read:
• Susan Pass, Parallel Paths to Constructivism: Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky
• JP
  • Behavior and Evolution
  • Biology and Knowledge
  • The Language and Thought of the Child
  • Psychology of Intelligence
• Anastasia Tryphon et al., Piaget-Vygotsky: The Social Genesis of Thought