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The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life Hardcover – August 4, 2009

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Alison Gopnik (Author)
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Alison Gopnik (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 36 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (August 4, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0374231966
  • ISBN-13: 978-0374231965
  • Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsEvery parent should read this!
By M. Jones on August 23, 2009
Format: Hardcover
Don't be swayed by the austere title, what this book does best is corral and explain recent studies on what babies and toddlers understand and when: When do they start to feel empathy? When are they able to understand that hitting hurts? When can they be expected to understand rules? What's the deal with invisible friends? It's given me a new perspective and a lot more sympathy for my into-everything son.

It's also a page-turning easy read and utterly fascinating-- you'll want to go through with a highlighter to pick out all of the brilliant points.
Would make a great gifts for parents & parents-to-be!
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5.0 out of 5 starsInsight into the inner life of children
By Israel Ramirez on November 8, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Have you ever wondered about the inner life of children, how they understand things, what their stream of consciousness is like, how they perceive the world, what their feelings are really like? I watched my own children grow up, talked with them daily, fed them, played with them, but always felt that I was missing a lot about their inner world. Gopnik answered some of my questions and showed me other questions that I hadn't thought of asking.

Gopnick argues, for example, that young children don't have the same self narrative adults have. I remember being appalled by my daughter's inability to describe what happened on her recent trip to the zoo. Gopnick argues that this happens because very young children haven't developed the story about themselves that allows them to go back and fetch prior events the way adults do. When I return from a trip to the zoo, I retain a story about finding a parking spot, paying admission, watching the monkeys near the entrance, etc. With very young children, there is no such narrative, only a series of events. These events are remembered. So if I ask a more direct question, like did you enjoy the monkeys in the big cage, she tells me about the big monkey chasing the smaller monkey.

Gopnik emphasizes the sophistication of children who can easily distinguish between imaginary, possible, and real objects. She tells us about how children can make sophisticated judgments about causal relationships after having seen only a few relevant events.Read more ›
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1.0 out of 5 starsExactly like her other book
By A. Martens on November 1, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I bought this because I really enjoyed "The Scientist in the Crib" and I was hoping for more along those lines. What I got however, was exactly the same book as The Scientist in the Crib - same experiments, same analysis, only I paid more for it and two of authors of the previous book were stripped of credit. This book would be great if I hadn't read it already.
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3.0 out of 5 starsBrief survey of early childhood research
By R. Schwenk VINE VOICE on April 16, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book presents some interesting experimental results from early childhood research. (The "Baby" of the title actually means the "Child up to Age 5," a rather more inclusive category!) These results tell us that a lot more is going on in children's minds than scientists had previously thought, especially scientists who managed to avoid spending any time with children.

I wish more of the book were about the experiments. There is too great a ratio of speculation to actual results, and a lot of the speculation is based on the author's experience as a mother, but without the intimacy of a memoir.

Nevertheless, the book is worth skimming for the experiments alone. These are fascinating in themselves, and you can feel free to form your own conjectures from them.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA new pespective on raising kids
By R. Lyubovitzky on September 20, 2009
Format: Hardcover
The book is a little dry but it provides great insights (backed up by the actual research) into understanding what is going on inside kids' heads. As opposed to what many past generations had thought, babies and kids actually posess tremendous capacity for the information processing, they are very smart and intuitive. And they are also much more empathetic, creative, and imaginitive than most adults. The book provides lots of actual examples of what you might have been observing in your kids but not understanding fully what it means. I liked the chapter about role-playing and imaginary friends. It is helpful to know that that child is capable of making a very clear distinction between what is imaginary and what is real. Some parents worry that their kids would wander off "too far" into imaginary world. The book provides ideas for the easy to do reality checks for the parents :) Great idea to read the book even before you become a parent.
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5.0 out of 5 starsEducators and Parents, (and everyone else) This is and Essential Book
By Bjoerling Idolater on November 26, 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This review is written by a teacher with over fifty years' experience from pre-school to grad school. The first four or five years of life see an expansion in mental capabilities probably greater than any similar period. Attitudes, values, points of view and judgements have their bases here. Author Alison Gopnik is one of the best in observing and reporting on the subject. Her writing is clear and avoids complex technical terms. Her co-authored "The Scientist in the Crib" is equally brilliant. As a teacher I wish it were possible to say to would-be parents, "Sorry, no love making until you have read these two books." I know that's not going to happen and say it only to demonstrate the critical value of these books.

Dana "Chris" Clarke
Onesceptic@hotmail.com
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great book! Offers a really nice insight on the mind of babies. :)

Published 2 months ago by Mirona M.
5.0 out of 5 starsAn enjoyable read with broader implications for human development

I great overview of some current beliefs about early childhood development from a respected developmental psychologist. Read more

Published 3 months ago by translogos
5.0 out of 5 starsRead it and learn.

So instructive.

Published 9 months ago by jennifertoo
3.0 out of 5 starsHit the highlights - Watch her TED Talk for free!

This book began well with a few truly fascinating chapters about how experiments with babies and young children have led to a better understanding of the human mind and... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Virginia Gilbert
4.0 out of 5 starsHighly recommend it to anyone having a baby

Very interesting and well written. Highly recommend it to anyone having a baby!

Published on August 16, 2014 by eva beckman
4.0 out of 5 starsIntrinsically interested in developmental psych? Then you'll probably...

Really enjoyed this book. To clarify, it is NOT a book on how to be a good parent or how to make your kid smart. Read more

Published on July 3, 2014 by S. Berg
3.0 out of 5 starsAvoid the Audible version!!

Hello, I recently read "All Joy, No fun" (WONDERFUL book by the way) and she made reference to this book many times. Therefore I purchased the audible version. Read more

Published on March 14, 2014 by K. Jones
4.0 out of 5 starsWhat do babies think?

This book focuses more on older infancy and toddlerhood, not young babies. It did not cover the information for which I was looking.

Published on December 27, 2013 by Phyllis Porter
5.0 out of 5 starsloved

needed the book for school I got it on time. now I can start reading it and start on my book report

Published on September 14, 2013 by diamond
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent for anyone interested in intelligence!

Allison Gopnik has given us an insightful peek into the workings of the brain. More than we ever thought possible or likely during babyhood !

Published on March 26, 2013 by Cathryn D. Kasper

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