Showing papers by "Jean Piaget published in 1966"

Necessite Et Signification Des Recherches Comparatives En Psychologie Genetique

Abstract: Need and meaning of comparative studies in genetic psychology. The comparative studies in the field of genetic psychology are indispensable for Psychology in general and also for Sociology, because only such studies allow us to separate the effects of biological or mental factors from those of social and cultural influences on the formation and the socialization of individuals. Relevant to this discussion is the well-known issue between culturalistic psychoanalysts like Fromm, Homey, etc., and classical freudian psychoanalysts who reduce the whole individual development to an endogenous evolution of instinct. In the field of cognitive functions to which this paper is devoted, at least four kinds of various factors must be distinguished, the respective influences of which can be separated through comparative studies: 1. Biological factors depending on the “epigenetic” system (maturation of nervous system, etc.). These factors probably explain the sequential aspects (constant and necessary order) o...

Biology and Cognition

Abstract: In order to compare cognitive and biologic mechanisms, we must first state that the former are an extension and utilization of organic autoregulations, of which they are a form of endproduct. To demonstrate this, one can begin by noting the close parallels between the major problems faced by biologists and those faced by theoreticians of the intelligence or of cognition. Secondly, one can analyze the functional analogies and especially the structural isomorphisms between organic life and the means of cognition: “nested” structures, structures of order, multiplicative correspondence, etc. One can also attempt a sort of comparative epistemology of the different levels of behavior (the “logic” of the instincts or of the learning processes, etc.). Finally, one can examine the explanations current among biologists to account for the formation of intelligence. But if these various analyses bring into relief the continuity between organic life and cognitive mechanisms, on the other hand it still remains to be seen that the latter constitute differentiated and specialized organs for reacting physiologically to the external world. Or in other words, that at the same time that they are an elaboration of organic structures in general, they fulfill particular functions, although still of a biologic nature. The following pages are based on this premise, but it should be understood that it is not a question of contrasting cognition with organic behavior but rather of placing the functions of the former within the framework of the latter.