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

prompt delivery.good print.

The premise of the book looked hopeful, enticing even with its eclectic mix of psychology, philosophy and childhood studies. How disappoining then that just a few pages then did this hyped up text quickly descend into what can only be described as drivel.Gopnik does not have a flair for writing and resorts to puns and jokes to make the subject matter easier to digest for us common folk I guess. The constant 'name dropping' is tiresome and adds nothing to the overall purpose of the book (in the first few chapters alone Gopnik mentions how her brother grew up and got a job but not just any job - by golly - he's a writer for the New York Times - thank you for that Alison, it really gave the book a whole lot more depth).The prose is patronising - don't expect to be intellectually challenged as the most basic of psychological concepts are explained in slowww movvvinggg chunks page after page. The constant references to pop culture also stand out as being 'added in' for the sole purpose of allowing the audience to relate to the text through these references - but it didn't wash with me.If you are after an honest, approachable and yet, intellectually stimulating read on this topic I strongly suggest you skip this one, save your money and head straight to 'why love matters'To summarise, dry, slow moving and condescending. Stick to the networking Gopnik and save the name dropping anecdotes for your lavish dinner parties.

This is such an awesome book for anyone who is learning about Early Childhood development for any reason. It brings together all the main scientific findings of recent years into one volume and nicely integrates them into one body of knowledge, tying together with philosophy, educational theory and other disciplines. Also a very enjoyable read, at times quite humorous.

Great book full of insight into the mind of a child. Read about this in 'How to change your mind' by Michael Pollan and was not disappointed.

Just doesn't grab you. Simple as that.

great book, very profound and interesting topics are mentioned. However the discussions are deep so you need your full concentration to really get to the core meaning. great stuff!

Fabulous! A unique perspective on how babies and children think, and why studying them is so important to understanding our own psychology

Infants have a lot going on in their minds. More than the general public tends to give them credit for. As both a developmental researcher and a parent with a young infant, it was nice to read this wealth of information in a format that was easy to digest and easy to see in my own child. This isn't really a book on how to raise a child, but the information and ideas in the book should help you relate and respond better to your infant. I suspect that some people will be surprised at how much is going on in their infants brains, while others will feel that this book is saying (in specific terms) what they already know: behind those bright big eyes is a very keen and active brain that is busy learning about the world.In a nutshell, infants are born with a degree of internal capacity (innate/evolved); traits that work with the environment to help the infant learn fundamental information at a phenomenal rate. Things like faces, places, physics, movement, etc. all need to be learned (to various degrees). Infants are proving to be far more sophisticated learners than we ever thought, mainly because developmental psychologists are getting better at finding clever ways of measuring babies' cleverness (e.g., you just can't ask a baby if it knows that 1+1=2, but you can see if it's surprised by a new toy when there shouldn't be one- that shows counting and memory). In fact, the brain's neuron count (thinking cells count) peaks right at the end of infancy. The adult brain is certainly faster and more accurate, but never again will a human have the flexible potential for learning that they possessed as an infant. What Gopnik does is further extend these fascinating findings to the hypothesis that we are who we are, as individuals and as a species, because of our infancy. Our infancy is not just a building phase, it also shapes and constrains us. The way babies think can reveal important insights on the nature of thought and how adults think. It's an ironic twist, using babies to teach adults, but for the most part, I think it's very well-argued.Overall then, if you're interested in infants, or about the nature and development of human thought, I highly recommend this book. It's pitched at a general audience, so parents, grandparents, and those who work with infants should have no problem learning more about the delightful little learners they spend their time with.

die in diesem Buch interessant und gut verständlich berichteten Forschungsergebnisse sind, wenn wir sie wirklich ernst nehmen, sehr geeignet, unser Verhalten gegenüber unseren Kindern zu verändern. Wir werden sie ernst nehmen und uns unserer Verantwortung in ihrer Begleitung ins Leben bewußter und damit in unserem Verhalten dem Wesen unserer Kindern gerechter.

This book is intriguing. Just starting it but so far I am looking forward to reading through it.

One of the best baby books I've read (after Scientist in the Crib by the same author).Kind or reminds you to trust yourself and your baby... everything we need to know we already do.

Excellent book for any audience: parents, everyday readers, teachers, and practitioners.

Je n'ai pas perçu l'intérêt de ce livre et l'ai revendu peu de temps après, je ne recommande pas désolée !

A really good insight into the latest baby research and the brain of our little ones.My only complaint would be that the author seems incapable of impartiality. She keeps pushing an anti-Bush agenda, which is not only uninteresting to the non-American reader, and incredibly dated, no, it also makes me take her research with a grain of salt, as I feel a scientist writing a science book without realising that her political views don't belong here cannot possibly overcome her own confirmation bias.Still, interesting read.

Arrived as described. Thank you.

Very good.