The Philosophical Baby

By Alison Gopnik,

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

Book description

In the last decade there has been a revolution in our understanding of the minds of infants and young children. We used to believe that babies were irrational, and that their thinking and experience were limited. Now Alison Gopnik ― a leading psychologist and philosopher, as well as a mother…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked The Philosophical Baby as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

What if children are not little adults but a different species? Perhaps children are butterflies who develop into caterpillars? Child psychologist Allision Gopnik asks wonderful questions about human development. She notes that most of us produce our best art and ask our deepest questions (“Why is the sky blue?”) as small children.

Childhood, she says, is our time of basic research; adulthood is the time for practical applications. Like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, she celebrates the unique gifts of childhood, but she does not offer suggestions about how we might recapture those gifts. 

This is another book about the new research into how babies think. I am excited about this research because of its implications for how people learn mathematics and how researchers create math. This book taught me something important about how we all think. Gopnik distinguishes between what she calls flashlight consciousness and lantern consciousness. Flashlight is the way adults think. You focus on one thing at a time and give it your full attention. But babies, she claims, use their minds differently. Their lantern consciousness is unfocused and is aware of the big picture all at once.  

So what happens…

From William's list on thinking, creativity, and mathematics.

If you love The Philosophical Baby...

Ad

Book cover of Return to Hope Creek

Return to Hope Creek By Alyssa J. Montgomery,

Return to Hope Creek is a second-chance rural romance set in Australia.

Stella Simpson's career and engagement are over. She returns to the rural community of Hope Creek to heal, unaware her high school and college sweetheart, Mitchell Scott, has also moved back to town to do some healing of…

Want books like The Philosophical Baby?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Philosophical Baby.

Browse books like The Philosophical Baby

Book cover of The Origin of Concepts
Book cover of Childhood and Society
Book cover of What Is Mathematics, Really?

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,606

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Philosophical Baby, you might also like...

Book cover of Kanazawa

Kanazawa By David Joiner,

Emmitt’s plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of purchasing their dream home. Disappointed, he’s surprised to discover her subtle pursuit of a life and career in Tokyo.

In his search for a meaningful life in Japan, and after quitting his job, he finds himself helping his mother-in-law…

Book cover of Christmas Actually

Christmas Actually By Lisa Darcy,

Every picture tells a story, but it’s not always the one we expect or remember. Christmas Actually is a festive drama about family and forgiveness and a snapshot of modern family life, addressing Instagram to motherhood and everything in between.

Why Christmas? My publisher wanted my new novel to have…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in math, consciousness, and developmental psychology?

Math 276 books
Consciousness 80 books