First published in 1983. This volume is drawn from the Tenth Annual Symposium of the Jean Piaget Society. The theme of that Symposium, selected by the Board of Directors of the Society, was Piaget and the Foundations of Knowledge. The goal of the Symposium was to provide a critical discussion of Piaget's views on the origins of knowledge, and to identify alternatives to those views.
"Here is an overall, unified approach to Piaget's psychological theory of intelligence that includes his most recent research and concepts. No other book covers the main sources from which Piaget's work stems or offers such complete understanding. The concise summation provides a general introduction at a time when the growing popularity of Piaget's theories is not always proportionate with the understanding of some of his chief theoretical notions. His theory of biological intelligence, for example, is not referred to in other books in English dealing with theoretical aspects of learning or intelligence. This book examines and interprets all of Piaget and includes reading material, mostly from Piaget's writings, available in English for the first time. Diagrams of basic concepts are used by way of illustrations. Besides introductory and summary sections, the text focuses on the five major themes of operative, symbolic, and figurative knowing, biology, and equilibration. It is a challenging book which both informs and opens up new vistas. It encourages the reader to fit familiar notions about Piaget into an overall understanding of Piaget's system. A leading interpreter whose qualifications include a year at Piaget's International Center of Genetic Epistemology in Geneva, Dr. Furth explains Piaget's key concepts and theoretical notions of psychological intelligence. His analysis interprets Piaget's theory of intelligence and clarifies how superior levels of intelligence and scientific thinking evolve from elementary forms of behavior."-Publisher.
Publisher description: This introduction to Jean Paiget's theory shows readers how children construct and acquire knowledge as it relates to current constructivist approaches to learning. Pieget's theory of Cognitive and Affective Development, sixth edition is well regarded as a work that preserves the historically important research done by Jean Piaget. The Classics edition retains all of the content of the previous edition and contains updates in critical areas by Barry Wadsworth.
In the past knowledge was considered static, but epistemologists now take that as soon as an entity of knowledge crystallizes it must dissolve again in the current of new developments of understanding. Here Piaget brings scientific analysis, without philosophical presuppositions, to bear on the understanding of knowledge as a process. This approach to knowledge underlines the benefits of interdisciplinary studies; and Piaget puts forward specific proposals for cooperation between philosophy, linguistics, cybernetics, political economy, demography, logic, epistemology and experimental teaching methods. It is the contention of this great theoretician that such interdisciplinary work could lead to a whole "circle of sciences", in which wide-ranging disciplines would link hands in a general theory of knowledge. -- Back cover.
This unusual volume presents an overview of Jean Piaget's work in psychology--from his earliest writings to posthumous publications. It also contains a glossary of the essential explanatory concepts found in this work. The focus is on Piaget's psychological studies and on the underlying epistemological theses. The book may be consulted in various ways depending on whether one is looking for an introduction to Piaget's theory, details about a particular concept, a survey of his body of work, or a historical perspective. Readers who are relatively unfamiliar with Piaget's ideas and seek access to them through this book will not necessarily proceed in the same way as those who are acquainted with Piaget's work and wish to refresh, synthesize, or complete their knowledge. The volume is divided into two major sections with several subdivisions as follows: * The Chronological Overview presents Piaget's early ideas and the most important sources of his inspiration, and reviews his research work dividing it into four main periods plus a transitional one. * The Glossary covers a number of explanatory concepts which are essential to Piaget's theory.
