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Book Cover for: Descartes' Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human, Paul Bloom

Descartes' Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human

Paul Bloom

All humans see the world in two fundamentally different ways: even babies have a rich understanding of both the physical and social worlds. They expect objects to obey principles of physics, and they're startled when things disappear or defy gravity. Yet they can also read emotions and respond with anger, sympathy, and joy.In Descartes' Baby, Bloom draws on a wealth of scientific discoveries to show how these two ways of knowing give rise to such uniquely human traits as humor, disgust, religion, art, and morality. How our dualist perspective, developed throughout our lives, profoundly influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions is the subject of this richly rewarding book.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Basic Books
  • Publish Date: May 1st, 2005
  • Pages: 288
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.90in - 4.90in - 0.90in - 0.50lb
  • EAN: 9780465007868
  • Categories: • Developmental - Child• Cognitive Psychology & Cognition• Psychotherapy - Counseling

About the Author

Paul Bloom is Professor of Psychology at Yale University. His book How Children Learn the Meaning of Words won the Award for Excellence from the Association of American Publishers. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

More books by Paul Bloom

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Book Cover for: Fundamentals of Comparative Cognition, Sara J. Shettleworth
Book Cover for: Psico: La Historia de la Mente Humana / Psych: The Story of the Human Mind, Paul Bloom
Book Cover for: The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning, Paul Bloom
Book Cover for: How Children Learn the Meanings of Words, Paul Bloom
Book Cover for: Rules at Lunch, Paul Bloom
Book Cover for: Rules in the Classroom, Paul Bloom
Book Cover for: Rules in the Gym, Paul Bloom
Book Cover for: Rules in the Library, Paul Bloom
Book Cover for: Rules on the Bus, Paul Bloom
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Praise for this book

"[A] fascinating read, penetrating but not off-puttingly so, and of far more intellectual weight than the average pop-psychology offering."