A Elaboração Do Universo Na Infância Jean Piaget

7/26/2019 A Elaborao Do Universo Na Infncia Jean Piaget

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The Construction of Reality in the Child

Jean Piaget (1955)

https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/piaget2.htm

The Elaboration of the Universe.

Conclusion

Source: The Construction of Reality in the Child,translated by Margaret Cook, 1955, Routledge andKegan Paul. Only the last chapter reproduced here.

In our !rst study o the beg!nn!ngs o "ental l!e

#e analysed the or!g!ns o !ntell!gence !n ch!ldren

and tr!ed to sho# ho# the or"s o !ntellectual

act!$!ty are constructed on the sensor! "otor le$el.

In the current #ork #e ha$e tr!ed, on the other

hand, to understand ho# the real categor!es o

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence are organ!sed, that !s,ho# the #orld !s constructed by "eans o th!s

!nstru"ent. In conclus!on, the t!"e has co"e to

sho# the un!ty o these $ar!ous processes and the!r

relat!ons #!th those o the ch!ld%s thought,

en$!saged !n the!r "ost general aspect.

!. "ssi#ilation an$ "cco##o$ation

&he success!$e study o concepts o ob'ect, space,causal!ty, and t!"e has led us to the sa"e

conclus!ons: the elaborat!on o the un!$erse by

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence const!tutes the trans!t!on

ro" a state !n #h!ch ob'ects are centred about a

sel #h!ch bel!e$es !t d!rects the", although

co"pletely una#are o !tsel as sub'ect, to a state !n

#h!ch the sel !s placed, at least pract!cally, !n a

stable #orld conce!$ed as !ndependent o personalact!$!ty. (o# !s th!s e$olut!on poss!ble)


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It can be e*pla!ned only by the de$elop"ent o

!ntell!gence. Intell!gence progresses ro" a state !n

#h!ch acco""odat!on to the en$!ron"ent !s

und!erent!ated ro" the ass!"!lat!on o th!ngs to

the sub'ect%s sche"ata to a state !n #h!ch the

acco""odat!on o "ult!ple sche"ata !s

d!st!ngu!shed ro" the!r respect!$e and rec!procal

ass!"!lat!on. &o understand th!s process, #h!ch

su"s up the #hole e$olut!on o sensor!"otor

!ntell!gence, let us recall !ts steps, start!ng #!th the

de$elop"ent o ass!"!lat!on !tsel.

In !ts beg!nn!ngs, ass!"!lat!on !s essent!ally theut!l!sat!on o the e*ternal en$!ron"ent by the

sub'ect to nour!sh h!s hered!tary or ac+u!red

sche"ata. It goes #!thout say!ng that sche"ata

such as those o suck!ng, s!ght, prehens!on, etc.,

constantly need to be acco""odated to th!ngs,

and that the necess!t!es o th!s acco""odat!on

oten th#art the ass!"!latory eort. ut th!s

acco""odat!on re"a!ns so und!erent!ated ro"

the ass!"!latory processes that !t does not g!$e r!se

to any spec!al act!$e beha$!our pattern but "erely

cons!sts !n an ad'ust"ent o the pattern to the

deta!ls o the th!ngs ass!"!lated. (ence !t !s natural

that at th!s de$elop"ental le$el the e*ternal #orld

does nor see" or"ed by per"anent ob'ects, that

ne!ther space nor t!"e !s yet organ!sed !n groups

and ob'ect!$e ser!es, and that causal!ty !s not

spat!al!sed or located !n th!ngs. In other #ords, at

!rst the un!$erse cons!sts !n "ob!le and plast!c

perceptual !"ages centred about personal act!$!ty.

ut !t !s sel-e$!dent that to the e*tent that th!s

act!$!ty !s und!erent!ated ro" the th!ngs !t

constantly ass!"!lates to !tsel !t re"a!ns una#are

o !ts o#n sub'ect!$!ty the e*ternal #orld thereore

beg!ns by be!ng conused #!th the sensat!ons o a

sel una#are o !tsel, beore the t#o actors


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beco"e detached ro" one another and are

organ!sed correlat!$ely.

On the other hand, !n proport!on as the

sche"ata are "ult!pl!ed and d!erent!ated by the!rrec!procal ass!"!lat!ons as #ell as the!r progress!$e

acco""odat!on to the d!$ers!t!es o real!ty, the

acco""odat!on !s d!ssoc!ated ro" ass!"!lat!on

l!ttle by l!ttle and at the sa"e t!"e ensures a

gradual del!"!tat!on o the e*ternal en$!ron"ent

and o the sub'ect. (ence ass!"!lat!on ceases

"erely to !ncorporate th!ngs !n personal act!$!ty

and establ!shes, through the progress o thatact!$!ty, an !ncreas!ngly t!ght #eb o coord!nat!ons

a"ong the sche"ata #h!ch de!ne !t and

conse+uently a"ong the ob'ects to #h!ch these

sche"ata are appl!ed. In ter"s o relect!$e

!ntell!gence th!s #ould "ean that deduct!on !s

organ!sed and appl!ed to an e*per!ence conce!$ed

as e*ternal. /ro" th!s t!"e on, the un!$erse !s bu!lt

up !nto an aggregate o per"anent ob'ects

connected by causal relat!ons that are !ndependent

o the sub'ect and are placed !n ob'ect!$e space and

t!"e. 0uch a un!$erse, !nstead o depend!ng on

personal act!$!ty, !s on the contrary !"posed upon

the sel to the e*tent that !t co"pr!ses the

organ!s" as a part !n a #hole. &he sel thus

beco"es a#are o !tsel, at least !n !ts pract!cal

act!on, and d!sco$ers !tsel as a cause a"ong other

causes and as an ob'ect sub'ect to the sa"e la#s as

other ob'ects.

In e*act proport!on to the progress o

!ntell!gence !n the d!rect!on o d!erent!at!on o

sche"ata and the!r rec!procal ass!"!lat!on, the

un!$erse proceeds ro" the !ntegral and

unconsc!ous egocentr!s" o the beg!nn!ngs to an

!ncreas!ng sol!d!!cat!on and ob'ect!!cat!on.ur!ng the earl!est stages the ch!ld perce!$es


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th!ngs l!ke a sol!ps!st #ho !s una#are o h!"sel as

sub'ect and !s a"!l!ar only #!th h!s o#n act!ons.

ut step by step #!th the coord!nat!on o h!s

!ntellectual !nstru"ents he d!sco$ers h!"sel !n

plac!ng h!"sel as an act!$e ob'ect a"ong the other

act!$e ob'ects !n a un!$erse e*ternal to h!"sel.

&hese global transor"at!ons o the ob'ects o

percept!on, and o the $ery !ntell!gence #h!ch

"akes the", gradually denote the e*!stence o a

sort o la# o e$olut!on #h!ch can be phrased as

ollo#s: ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on proceed

ro" a state o chaot!c und!erent!at!on to a stateo d!erent!at!on #!th correlat!$e coord!nat!on.

In the!r !n!t!al d!rect!ons, ass!"!lat!on and

acco""odat!on are ob$!ously opposed to one

another, s!nce ass!"!lat!on !s conser$at!$e and

tends to subord!nate the en$!ron"ent to the

organ!s" as !t !s, #hereas acco""odat!on !s the

source o changes and bends the organ!s" to the

success!$e constra!nts o the en$!ron"ent. ut ! !n

the!r rud!"ent these t#o unct!ons are

antagon!st!c, !t !s prec!sely the role o "ental l!e !n

general and o !ntell!gence !n part!cular to

!ntercoord!nate the".

/!rst let us re"e"ber that th!s coord!nat!on

presupposes no spec!al orce o organ!sat!on, s!nce

ro" the beg!nn!ng ass!"!lat!on andacco""odat!on are !nd!ssoc!able ro" each other.

2cco""odat!on o "ental structures to real!ty

!"pl!es the e*!stence o ass!"!latory sche"ata

apart ro" #h!ch any structure #ould be

!"poss!ble. In$ersely, the or"at!on o sche"ata

through ass!"!lat!on enta!ls the ut!l!sat!on o

e*ternal real!t!es to #h!ch the or"er "ust

acco""odate, ho#e$er crudely. 2ss!"!lat!on and

acco""odat!on are thereore the t#o poles o an


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!nteract!on bet#een the organ!s" and the

en$!ron"ent, #h!ch !s the cond!t!on or all

b!olog!cal and !ntellectual operat!on, and such an

!nteract!on presupposes ro" the po!nt o

departure an e+u!l!br!u" bet#een the t#o

tendenc!es o oppos!te poles. &he +uest!on !s to

ascerta!n #hat or"s are success!$ely taken by th!s

e+u!l!br!u" #h!ch !s be!ng const!tuted.

I the ass!"!lat!on o real!ty to the sub'ect%s

sche"ata !n$ol$es the!r cont!nuous

acco""odat!on, ass!"!lat!on !s no less opposed to

any ne# acco""odat!on, that !s, to anyd!erent!at!on o sche"ata by en$!ron"ental

cond!t!ons not encountered up to then. On the

other hand, ! acco""odat!on pre$a!ls, that !s, !

the sche"a !s d!erent!ated, !t "arks the start o

ne# ass!"!lat!ons. 3$ery ac+u!s!t!on o

acco""odat!on beco"es "ater!al or ass!"!lat!on,

but ass!"!lat!on al#ays res!sts ne#

acco""odat!ons. It !s th!s s!tuat!on #h!ch e*pla!ns

the d!$ers!ty o or" o e+u!l!br!u" bet#een the

t#o processes, accord!ng to #hether one en$!sages

the po!nt o departure or the dest!ny o the!r

de$elop"ent.

2t the!r po!nt o departure they are relat!$ely

und!erent!ated !n relat!on to each other, s!nce

they are both !ncluded !n the !nteract!on #h!ch

un!tes the organ!s" to the en$!ron"ent and #h!ch,!n !ts !n!t!al or", !s so close and d!rect that !t does

not co"pr!se any spec!al!sed operat!on o

acco""odat!on, such as the tert!ary c!rcular

react!ons, beha$!our patterns o act!$e

e*per!"entat!on, etc., #!ll subse+uently be. ut

they are none the less antagon!st!c, s!nce, though

each ass!"!latory sche"a !s acco""odated to the

usual c!rcu"stances, !t res!sts e$ery ne#acco""odat!on, prec!sely through lack o


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spec!al!sed acco""odat!$e techn!+ue. It !s

thereore poss!ble to speak o chaot!c

und!erent!at!on. It !s at th!s le$el that the e*ternal

#orld and the sel re"a!n und!ssoc!ated to such a

po!nt that ne!ther ob'ects nor spat!al, te"poral, or

causal ob'ect!!cat!ons are poss!ble.

&o the e*tent that ne# acco""odat!ons "ult!ply

because o the de"ands o the en$!ron"ent on the

one hand and o the coord!nat!ons bet#een

sche"ata on the other, acco""odat!on !s

d!erent!ated ro" ass!"!lat!on and by $!rtue o

that $ery act beco"es co"ple"entary to !t. It !sd!erent!ated, because, !n add!t!on to the

acco""odat!on necessary or the usual

c!rcu"stances, the sub'ect beco"es !nterested !n

no$elty and pursues !t or !ts o#n sake. &he "ore

the sche"ata are d!erent!ated, the s"aller the

gap bet#een the ne# and the a"!l!ar beco"es, so

that no$elty, !nstead o const!tut!ng an annoyance

a$o!ded by the sub'ect, beco"es a proble" and

!n$!tes search!ng. &hereater and to the sa"e

e*tent, ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on enter !nto

relat!ons o "utual dependence. On the one hand,

the rec!procal ass!"!lat!on o the sche"ata and the

"ult!ple acco""odat!ons #h!ch ste" ro" the"

a$our the!r d!erent!at!on and conse+uently the!r

acco""odat!on on the other hand, the

acco""odat!on to no$elt!es !s e*tended sooner or

later !nto ass!"!lat!on, because, !nterest !n the ne#

be!ng s!"ultaneously the unct!on o rese"blances

and o d!erences !n relat!on to the a"!l!ar, !t !s a

"atter o conser$!ng ne# ac+u!s!t!ons and o

reconc!l!ng the!r. #!th the old ones. 2n

!ncreas!ngly close !nterconnect!on thus tends to be

establ!shed bet#een the t#o unct!ons #h!ch are

constantly be!ng better d!erent!ated, and by

e*tend!ng the l!nes th!s !nteract!on ends, as #eha$e seen, on the plane o relect!$e thought, !n the


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"utual dependency o ass!"!latory deduct!on and

e*per!"ental techn!+ues.

&hus !t "ay be seen that !ntellectual act!$!ty

beg!ns #!th conus!on o e*per!ence and oa#areness o the sel, by $!rtue o the chaot!c

und!erent!at!on o acco""odat!on and

ass!"!lat!on. In other #ords, kno#ledge o the

e*ternal #orld beg!ns #!th an !""ed!ate

ut!l!sat!on o th!ngs, #hereas kno#ledge o sel !s

stopped by th!s purely pract!cal and ut!l!tar!an

contact. (ence there !s s!"ply !nteract!on bet#een

the "ost super!c!al 4one o e*ternal real!ty and the#holly corporal per!phery o the sel. On the

contrary, gradually as the d!erent!at!on and

coord!nat!on o ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on

occur, e*per!"ental and acco""odat!$e act!$!ty

penetrates to the !nter!or o th!ngs, #h!le

ass!"!latory act!$!ty beco"es enr!ched and

organ!sed. (ence there !s a progress!$e or"at!on

o relat!onsh!ps bet#een 4ones that are

!ncreas!ngly deep and re"o$ed ro" really and the

!ncreas!ngly !nt!"ate operat!ons o personal

act!$!ty. !ntell!gence thus beg!ns ne!ther #!th

kno#ledge o the sel nor o th!ngs as such but #!th

kno#ledge o the!r !nteract!on, and !t Is by

or!ent!ng !tsel s!"ultaneously to#ard the t#o

poles o that !nteract!on that !ntell!gence organ!ses

the #orld by organ!s!ng !tsel.

2 d!agra" #!ll "ake the th!ng co"prehens!ble.

et the organ!s" be represented by a s"all c!rcle

!nscr!bed !n a large c!rcle #h!ch corresponds to the

surround!ng un!$erse. &he "eet!ng bet#een the

organ!s" and the en$!ron"ent takes place at po!nt

2 and at all analogous po!nts, #h!ch are

s!"ultaneously the "ost e*ternal to the organ!s"

and to the en$!ron"ent !tsel. In other #ords, the!rst kno#ledge o the un!$erse or o h!"sel that


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the sub'ect can ac+u!re !s kno#ledge relat!ng to the

"ost !""ed!ate appearance o th!ngs or to the

"ost e*ternal and "ater!al aspect o h!s be!ng.

/ro" the po!nt o $!e# o consc!ousness, th!s

pr!"!t!$e relat!on bet#een sub'ect and ob'ect !s a

relat!on o und!erent!at!on, correspond!ng to the

protoplas"!c consc!ousness o the !rst #eeks o

l!e #hen no d!st!nct!on !s "ade bet#een the sel

and the non-sel. /ro" the po!nt o $!e# o

beha$!our th!s relat!on const!tutes the

"orpholog!c-rele* organ!sat!on, !n so ar as !t !s a

necessary cond!t!on o pr!"!t!$e consc!ousness.

ut ro" th!s po!nt o 'unct!on andund!erent!at!on 2, kno#ledge proceeds along t#o

co"ple"entary roads. y $!rtue o the $ery act

that all kno#ledge !s s!"ultaneously

acco""odat!on to the ob'ect and ass!"!lat!on to

the sub'ect, the progress o !ntell!gence #orks !n

the dual d!rect!on o e*ternal!sat!on and

!nternal!sat!on, and !ts t#o poles #!ll be the

ac+u!s!t!on o phys!cal e*per!ence 6 -78 and theac+u!s!t!on o consc!ousness o the !ntellectual

operat!on !tsel 6 -7 . &hat !s #hy e$ery great

e*per!"ental d!sco$ery !n the real" o e*act

sc!ences !s acco"pan!ed by a rele*!$e progress o

reason on !tsel 6o log!co-"athe"at!cal

deduct!on, that !s, by progress !n the or"at!on o

reason !n so ar as !t !s !nternal act!$!ty, and !t !s

!"poss!ble to dec!de once or all #hether the

progress o the e*per!"ent !s due to that o reason

or the !n$erse. /ro" th!s po!nt o $!e# the

"orpholog!c-rele* organ!sat!on, that !s, the

phys!olog!cal and anato"!c aspect o the organ!s",

gradually appears to the "!nd as e*ternal to !t, and

the !ntellectual act!$!ty #h!ch e*tends !t by

!nternal!s!ng !t presents !tsel as the essent!al o

our e*!stence as l!$!ng be!ngs.


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In the last analys!s, !t !s th!s process o or"!ng

relat!onsh!ps bet#een a un!$erse constantly

beco"!ng "ore e*ternal to the sel and an

!ntellectual act!$!ty progress!ng !nternally #h!ch

e*pla!ns the e$olut!on o the real categor!es, that !s,

o the concepts o ob'ect, space, causal!ty, and

t!"e. 0o long as the !nteract!on bet#een sub'ect

and ob'ect !s re$ealed !n the or" o e*changes o

sl!ght a"pl!tude !n a 4one o und!erent!at!on, the

un!$erse has the appearance o depend!ng on the

sub'ect%s personal act!$!ty, although the latter !s

not kno#n !n !ts sub'ect!$e aspect. &o the e*tent,

on the contrary, that the !nteract!on !ncreases, theprogress o kno#ledge !n the t#o co"ple"entary

d!rect!ons o ob'ect and sub'ect enables the sub'ect

to place h!"sel a"ong ob'ects as a part !n a

coherent and per"anent #hole. Conse+uently, to

the e*tent that ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on

transcend the !n!t!al state o ;alse e+u!l!br!u";

bet#een the sub'ect%s needs and the res!stance o

th!ngs to atta!n a true e+u!l!br!u", that !s, ahar"ony bet#een !nternal organ!sat!on and

e*ternal e*per!ence, the sub'ect%s perspect!$e o the

un!$erse !s rad!cally transor"ed ro" !ntegral

egocentr!s" to ob'ect!$!ty !s the la# o that

e$olut!on. &he relat!ons o ass!"!lat!on and

acco""odat!on thus const!tute, ro" the t!"e o

the sensor!"otor


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po!nt #here he !s able to !nclude h!"sel !n !t #h!le

cont!nu!ng to ass!"!late !t to h!"sel.

%. The Transition fro# Sensori#otor !ntelligence to

Conce&tual Thought

&h!s last re"ark leads us to e*a"!ne br!ely, !n

conclus!on, the relat!ons bet#een the pract!cal

un!$erse elaborated by the sensor!"otor

!ntell!gence and the representat!on o the #orld

brought about by later relect!$e thought.

In the course o the !rst t#o years o ch!ldhoodthe e$olut!on o sensor!"otor !ntell!gence, and also

the correlat!$e elaborat!on o the un!$erse, see",

as #e ha$e tr!ed to analyse the", to lead to a state

o e+u!l!br!u" border!ng on rat!onal thought.

&hus, start!ng #!th the use o rele*es and the !rst

ac+u!red assoc!at!on, the ch!ld succeeds #!th!n a

e# "onths !n construct!ng a syste" o sche"ata

capable o unl!"!ted co"b!nat!ons #h!ch presages

that o log!cal concepts and relat!ons. ur!ng the

last stage o the!r de$elop"ent these sche"ata

e$en beco"e capable o certa!n spontaneous and

!nternal regroup!ngs #h!ch are e+u!$alent to

"ental deduct!on and construct!on. Moreo$er,

gradually as ob'ects, causal!ty, space, and t!"e are

elaborated, a coherent un!$erse ollo#s the chaos

o the !n!t!al egocentr!c percept!ons. >hen !n the

second year o l!e representat!on co"pletes act!onby "eans o the progress!$e !nternal!sat!on o

beha$!our patterns, one "!ght thereore e*pect

that the total!ty o sensor!"otor operat!ons #ould

"erely pass ro" the plane o act!on to that o

language and thought and that the organ!sat!on o

sche"ata #ould thus be d!rectly e*tended !n a

syste" o rat!onal concepts.


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In real!ty, th!ngs are ar ro" be!ng so s!"ple. In

the !rst place, on the plane o pract!cal !ntell!gence

alone, the e*cellent stud!es o 2ndre Reyl sho#

that not all the proble"s are sol$ed by the ch!ld by

the end o h!s second year. 2s soon as the data o

proble"s beco"e co"pl!cated and the sub'ects are

obl!ged to atta!n the!r ends by "eans o co"ple*

contacts or d!splace"ents, !n the solut!on o these

ne# proble"s through a sort o te"poral

d!splace"ent !n e*tens!on #e red!sco$er all the

obstacles analysed !n th!s $olu"e apropos o the

ele"entary stages o the !rst t#o years o l!e.

/urther"ore, and th!s !s $aluable to the theory ote"poral d!splace"ents, these obstacles reappear

!n the sa"e order desp!te the gap #h!ch separates

the ages o b!rth to ? years, stud!ed here, ro" the

ages o three to e!ght years stud!ed by 2ndre Rey.

&hus !n Rey%s e*per!"ents the ch!ld beg!ns by

re$eal!ng a sort o ;dyna"!c real!s",; ;!n the

course o #h!ch the "o$e"ent 6pull!ng, push!ng,

etc. #ould possess a +ual!ty !ndependent o anyadaptat!on to the part!cular data o the

en$!ron"ent.; &hen he goes through a phase o

;opt!cal real!s"; analogous to that #h!ch #e

obser$e a"ong ch!"pan4ees, !n #h!ch he

subst!tutes or the phys!cal relat!ons o bod!es the

$!sual relat!ons correspond!ng to the apparent data

o percept!on. (o# !s !t poss!ble not to co"pare

these t#o prel!"!nary steps to those #h!ch

character!se the beg!nn!ngs o sensor!"otor

!ntell!gence and o the pract!cal un!$erse result!ng

ro" the") yna"!c real!s" !s the res!due o the

ass!"!lat!on o th!ngs to act!ons that accounts or

pract!cal groups and ser!es, or the "ag!co-

pheno"enal!st!c causal!ty and the ob'ect-less

un!$erse pecul!ar to our ele"entary stages. eore

be!ng able to structure a co"ple* s!tuat!on, the

ch!ld ro" three to our years o age, l!ke the baby


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a e# "onths old #ho !s conronted by a s!tuat!on

that !s s!"pler but ro" h!s po!nt o $!e# obscure,

!s l!"!ted to ass!"!lat!ng !t to the act #h!ch should

be peror"ed. ecause o a res!dual bel!e !n the

po#er o h!s personal act!$!ty, he st!ll coners upon

h!s gestures a sort o absolute $alue, #h!ch !s

tanta"ount to orgett!ng "o"entar!ly that th!ngs

are per"anent substances grouped spat!ally,

ser!ated te"porally, and susta!n!ng a"ong

the"sel$es ob'ect!$e causal relat!ons. >!th regard

to opt!cal real!s" !t see"s clear that !t const!tutes a

res!due o beha$!our patterns #h!ch are

!nter"ed!ate bet#een the pr!"!t!$e egocentr!cstages and the stages o ob'ect!!cat!on, beha$!our

patterns character!sed by sub'ect!$e groups and

ser!es or by trans!t!onal beha$!our relat!ng to the

beg!nn!ngs o the ob'ect and o spat!al!4ed

causal!ty. Opt!cal real!s", too, cons!sts !n

cons!der!ng th!ngs as be!ng #hat they appear to be

!n !""ed!ate percept!on and not #hat they #!ll

beco"e once they ha$e been !nserted !n a syste"o rat!onal relat!ons transcend!ng the $!sual !eld.

&hus the ch!ld !"ag!nes that a st!ck can dra# an

ob'ect because !t !s bes!de !t or touches !t, as

though opt!cal contact #ere e+u!$alent to a causal

l!nk. It !s prec!sely th!s conus!on o !""ed!ate

$!sual percept!ons #!th phys!cal real!t!es that

character!ses the sub'ect!$e groups or ser!es, or

e*a"ple, #hen the baby does not kno# ho# to

turn o$er a nurs!ng bottle because he cannot

conce!$e o the ob'ect%s re$erse s!de, or #hen he

!"ag!nes h!"sel able to red!sco$er ob'ects #here

he sa# the" the !rst t!"e, regardless o the!r

actual tra'ectory.

(ence, bet#een the sensor!"otor !ntell!gence

#h!ch precedes the ad$ent o speech and the later

pract!cal !ntell!gence #h!ch subs!sts under $erbaland conceptual real!t!es, there !s not only a l!near


13/49

cont!nu!ty but also there are te"poral

d!splace"ents !n e*tens!on, so that !n the presence

o e$ery truly ne# proble" the sa"e pr!"!t!$e

processes o adaptat!on reappear, although

d!"!n!sh!ng !n !"portance #!th age.

ut abo$e all, e$en ! these obstacles

encountered !n act!on by the t#o- to se$en-year-

old ch!ld are dest!ned to be o$erco"e !nally,

through the !nstru"ents prepared by the

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence dur!ng the !rst t#o years

o l!e, the trans!t!on ro" the "erely pract!cal

plane to that o speech and conceptual andsoc!al!sed thought br!ngs #!th !t, by nature,

obstacles that s!ngularly co"pl!cate the progress o

!ntell!gence.

2t the outset, t#o !nno$at!ons place conceptual

thought !n oppos!t!on to sensor!"otor !ntell!gence

and e*pla!n the d!!culty o trans!t!on ro" one o

these t#o or"s o !ntellectual act!$!ty to the other.

In the !rst place, sensor!"otor !ntell!gence seeks

only pract!cal adaptat!on, that !s, !t a!"s only at

success or ut!l!sat!on, #hereas conceptual thought

leads to kno#ledge as such and thereore y!elds to

nor"s o truth. 3$en #hen the ch!ld e*plores a

ne# ob'ect or stud!es the d!splace"ents he

pro$okes @by a sort o ;e*per!"ent !n order to see,;

there !s al#ays !n these k!nds o sensor!"otor

ass!"!lat!ons, ho#e$er prec!se the acco""odat!onthey e$!dence, the concept o a pract!cal result to

be obta!ned. y $!rtue o the $ery act that the ch!ld

cannot translate h!s obser$at!ons !nto a syste" o

$erbal 'udg"ents and rele*!$e concepts but can

s!"ply reg!ster the" by "eans o sensor!"otor

sche"ata, that !s, by outl!n!ng poss!ble act!ons,

there can be no +uest!on o attr!but!ng to h!" the

capac!ty o arr!$!ng at pure proos or 'udg"entsproperly so called, but !t "ust be sa!d that these


14/49

'udg"ents, ! they #ere e*pressed !n #ords, #ould

be e+u!$alent to so"eth!ng l!ke, ;one can do th!s

#!th th!s ob'ect,; ;one could ach!e$e th!s result,;

etc. In the beha$!our patterns or!ented by an actual

goal, such as the d!sco$ery o ne# "eans through

act!$e e*per!"entat!on or the !n$ent!on o ne#

"eans through "ental co"b!nat!ons, the sole

proble" !s to reach the des!red goal, hence the

only $alues !n$ol$ed are success or a!lure, and to

the ch!ld !t !s not a "atter o seek!ng a truth or

!tsel or relect!ng upon the relat!ons #h!ch "ade !t

poss!ble to obta!n the des!red result. It !s thereore

no e*aggerat!on to say that sensor!"otor!ntell!gence !s l!"!ted to des!r!ng success or

pract!cal adaptat!on, #hereas the unct!on o

$erbal or conceptual thought !s to kno# and state

truths.

&here !s a second d!erence bet#een these t#o

types o act!$!ty: sensor!"otor !ntell!gence !s an

adaptat!on o the !nd!$!dual to th!ngs or to the

body o another person but #!thout soc!al!sat!on o

the !ntellect as such #hereas conceptual thought !s

collect!$e thought obey!ng co""on la#s. 3$en

#hen the baby !"!tates an !ntell!gent act

peror"ed by so"eone else or understands, ro" a

s"!le or an e*press!on o d!spleasure, the

!ntent!ons o another person, #e st!ll "ay not call

th!s an e*change o thoughts lead!ng to

"od!!cat!on o those !ntent!ons. On the contrary,

ater speech has been ac+u!red the soc!al!sat!on o

thought !s re$ealed by the elaborat!on o concepts,

o relat!ons, and by the or"at!on o rules, that !s,

there !s a structural e$olut!on. It !s prec!sely to the

e*tent that $erbal-conceptual thought !s

transor"ed by !ts collect!$e nature that !t beco"es

capable o proo and search or truth, !n

contrad!st!nct!on to the pract!cal character o theacts o sensor!"otor !ntell!gence and the!r search


15/49

or success or sat!sact!on. It !s by cooperat!on #!th

another person that the "!nd arr!$es at $er!y!ng

'udg"ents, $er!!cat!on !"ply!ng a presentat!on or

an e*change and ha$!ng !n !tsel no "ean!ng as

regards !nd!$!dual act!$!ty. >hether conceptual

thought !s rat!onal because !t !s soc!al or $!ce $ersa,

the !nterdependence o the search or truth and o

soc!al!sat!on see"s to us unden!able.

&he adaptat!on o !ntell!gence to these ne#

real!t!es, #hen speech and conceptual thought are

super!"posed on the sensor!"otor plane, enta!ls

the reappearance o all the obstacles alreadyo$erco"e !n the real" o act!on. &hat !s #hy,

desp!te the le$el reached by the !ntell!gence !n the

!th and s!*th stages o !ts sensor!"otor

de$elop"ent, !t does not appear to be rat!onal at

the outset, #hen !t beg!ns to be organ!sed on the

$erbal-conceptual plane. On the contrary, !t

"an!ests a ser!es o te"poral d!splace"ents !n

co"prehens!on and no longer only !n e*tens!on,

s!nce !n $!e# o correspond!ng operat!ons the ch!ld

o a g!$en age !s less ad$anced on the $erbal-

conceptual plane than on the plane o act!on. In

s!"pler ter"s, the ch!ld does not at !rst succeed !n

relect!ng !n #ords and concepts the procedures

that he already kno#s ho# to carry out !n acts, and

! he cannot relect the" !t !s because, !n order to

adapt h!"sel to the collect!$e and conceptual

plane on #h!ch h!s thought #!ll henceorth "o$e,

he !s obl!ged to repeat the #ork o coord!nat!on

bet#een ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on already

acco"pl!shed !n h!s sensor!"otor adaptat!on

anter!or to the phys!cal and pract!cal un!$erse.

It !s easy to pro$e: 61 that the ass!"!lat!on and

acco""odat!on o the !nd!$!dual ro" the t!"e o

the beg!nn!ngs o speech present a balance less#ell de$eloped !n relat!on to the soc!al group than


16/49

!n the real" o sensor!"otor !ntell!gence and 6 ?

that to "ake poss!ble the adaptat!on o the "!nd to

the group these unct!ons "ust proceed aga!n o$er

the sa"e steps, and !n the sa"e order, as dur!ng

the !rst "onths o l!e. /ro" the soc!al po!nt o

$!e#, acco""odat!on !s noth!ng other than

!"!tat!on and the total!ty o the operat!ons

enabl!ng the !nd!$!dual to subord!nate h!"sel to

the precepts and the de"ands o the group. >!th

regard to ass!"!lat!on !t cons!sts as beore !n

!ncorporat!ng real!ty !nto the act!$!ty and

perspect!$es o the sel. =ust as on the plane o

adaptat!on to the sensor!"otor un!$erse thesub'ect, #h!le sub"!tt!ng to the constra!nts o the

en$!ron"ent ro" the $ery beg!nn!ng, starts by

cons!der!ng th!ngs as dependent on h!s act!ons and

succeeds only l!ttle by l!ttle !n plac!ng h!"sel as an

ele"ent !n a total!ty #h!ch !s coherent and

!ndependent o h!"sel, so also on the soc!al plane

the ch!ld, #h!le at !rst obey!ng so"eone else%s

suggest!ons, or a long t!"e re"a!ns enclosed !nh!s personal po!nt o $!e# beore plac!ng !t a"ong

other po!nts o $!e#. &he sel and the group

thereore beg!n by re"a!n!ng und!ssoc!ated !n a

"!*ture o egocentr!s" and sub"!ss!on to

en$!ron"ental constra!nts, and subse+uently are

d!erent!ated and g!$e r!se to a cooperat!on

bet#een personal!t!es #h!ch ha$e beco"e

autono"ous. In other #ords, at the t!"e #hen

ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on are already

d!ssoc!ated on the plane o sensor!"otor

adaptat!on, they are not yet d!ssoc!ated on the

soc!al plane, and thus they reproduce there an

e$olut!on analogous to that #h!ch has already

occurred on the or"er plane.

/ro" th!s ar!ses a ser!es o conse+uences $ery

!"portant !n the structure o the ch!ld%s thought at!ts beg!nn!ngs. =ust as sensor!"otor !ntell!gence


17/49

starts as the ass!"!lat!on o ob'ects to the sche"ata

o personal act!$!ty #!th necessary acco""odat!on

but o !n$erse tendency to the preced!ng

acco""odat!on, and subse+uently arr!$es at a

prec!se adaptat!on to real!ty through the

coord!nat!on o ass!"!lat!on #!th acco""odat!on,

so also thought, at !ts ad$ent, beg!ns by be!ng the

ass!"!lat!on o real!ty to the sel #!th

acco""odat!on to the thought o others but

#!thout synthes!s o these t#o tendenc!es, and only

later ac+u!res the rat!onal un!ty #h!ch reconc!les

personal perspect!$e #!th rec!proc!ty.

In the !rst place, 'ust as pract!cal !ntell!gence

seeks success beore truth, egocentr!c thought, to

the e*tent that !t !s ass!"!lat!on to the sel, leads to

sat!sact!on and not to ob'ect!$!ty. &he e*tre"e

or" o th!s ass!"!lat!on to personal des!res and

!nterests !s sy"bol!c or !"ag!nat!$e play !n #h!ch

real!ty !s transor"ed by the needs o the sel to the

po!nt #here the "ean!ngs o thought "ay re"a!n

str!ctly !nd!$!dual and !nco""un!cable. ut

bet#een th!s ult!"ate reg!on o egocentr!c thought

6a reg!on !n #h!ch the sy"bol!c !"ag!nat!on "akes

!t poss!ble to !ncrease tenold the poss!b!l!t!es o

sat!sact!on oered to the act!on and conse+uently

to re!norce the tendenc!es o ass!"!lat!on to

personal act!$!ty pre$!ously "an!ested by

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence and thought adapted to

another person !s ound an !"portant 4one o

thought #h!ch, #h!le present!ng no +ual!ty o play,

presents analogous character!st!cs o ano"!a and

egocentr!s". &o account or th!s !t !s enough to

de"onstrate the d!!culty e*per!enced by l!ttle

ch!ldren ro" t#o to s!* years o age !n

part!c!pat!ng !n a con$ersat!on or a d!scuss!on, !n

narrat!ng or e*pla!n!ng, !n short, !n e"erg!ng ro"

personal thought to adapt the"sel$es to thethought o others. In all the soc!al beha$!our


18/49

patterns o thought !t !s easy to see ho# "uch

"ore eas!ly the ch!ld !s led to sat!sy h!s des!res

and to 'udge ro" h!s o#n personal po!nt o $!e#

than to enter !nto that o others to arr!$e at an

ob'ect!$e $!e#. ut !n contrast to th!s po#erul

ass!"!lat!on o real!ty to the sel #e #!tness dur!ng

the earl!est stages o !nd!$!dual thought the ch!ld%s

aston!sh!ng doc!l!ty #!th respect to the suggest!ons

and state"ents o another person the l!ttle ch!ld

constantly repeats #hat he hears, !"!tates the

att!tudes he obser$es, and thus y!elds as read!ly to

tra!n!ng by the group as he res!sts rat!onal

!ntercourse. In short, ass!"!lat!on to the sel andacco""odat!on to others beg!ns #!th a

co"pro"!se #!thout proound synthes!s, and at

!rst the sub'ect #a$ers bet#een these t#o

tendenc!es #!thout be!ng able to control or

organ!se the".

In the second place, there ar!ses a ser!es o

!ntellectual structures pecul!ar to these beg!nn!ngs

o !nant!le thought and #h!ch reproduce through

te"poral d!splace"ent the !n!t!al sensor!"otor

structures. &hus the !rst concepts the ch!ld uses

are not at the outset log!cal classes capable o

operat!ons o add!t!on, "ult!pl!cat!on, subtract!on,

etc., #h!ch character!se the log!c o classes !n !ts

nor"al unct!on!ng, ,but rather k!nds o

preconcepts proceed!ng by syncret!c ass!"!lat!ons.

0o also the ch!ld #ho succeeds !n handl!ng

relat!onsh!ps on the sensor!"otor plane beg!ns on

the $erbal and rele*!$e plane by subst!tut!ng or

relat!onsh!ps absolute +ual!t!es or lack o ab!l!ty to

coord!nate the d!erent perspect!$es and to

e"erge ro" the personal po!nt o $!e# to #h!ch

he ass!"!lates e$eryth!ng. &hereater the pr!"!t!$e

!nant!le reason!ng see"s to return to the

sensor!"otor coord!nat!ons o the !th and s!*thstages: not yet a"!l!ar #!th classes or relat!ons


19/49

properly so called, !t cons!sts !n s!"ple us!ons, !n

transduct!ons proceed!ng by syncret!c

ass!"!lat!ons. It !s only !n the course o a labor!ous

de$elop"ent #h!ch transor"s ego-centr!c

ass!"!lat!on !nto true deduct!on, and

acco""odat!on !nto a real ad'ust"ent to

e*per!ence and to perspect!$es surpass!ng the

personal po!nt o $!e#, that the ch!ld%s reason!ng

beco"es rat!onal and thus e*tends, on the plane o

thought, the ac+u!s!t!ons o sensor!"otor

!ntell!gence.

&hus #e see the e*tent to #h!ch thede$elop"ental pattern o ass!"!lat!on and o

acco""odat!on character!s!ng sensor!"otor

!ntell!gence const!tutes a general pheno"enon

capable o be!ng reproduced on th!s ne# plane o

conceptual thought beore acco""odat!on actually

e*tends ass!"!lat!on. In order better to understand

th!s e$olut!onary process and th!s te"poral

d!splace"ent !t !s !tt!ng to e*a"!ne "ore closely a

e# concrete e*a"ples dra#n ro" the acts

analysed !n th!s book.

'. ro# Sensori#otor Universe to *e&resentation of

the Chil$+s ,orl$

1. S&ace an$ -bect

&he understand!ng o spat!al relat!ons !s apart!cularly clear !rst e*a"ple o the parallel!s"

#!th te"poral d!splace"ent bet#een the

sensor!"otor ac+u!s!t!ons and those o

representat!$e thought.

>e recall ho#, start!ng #!th purely pract!cal and

+uas!-phys!olog!cal groups, the ch!ld beg!ns by

elaborat!ng sub'ect!$e groups, then arr!$es atob'ect!$e groups, and only then beco"es capable o


20/49

representat!$e groups. ut the groups o th!s last

type, ! they const!tute the cul"!nat!ng po!nt o

pract!cal space and thus !nsert !n sensor!"otor

spat!al relat!ons the representat!on o

d!splace"ents not occurr!ng #!th!n the d!rect

perceptual !eld, are ar ro" "ark!ng the

beg!nn!ng o a co"plete representat!on o space,

that !s, a representat!on co"pletely detached ro"

act!on. >hat #!ll happen #hen the ch!ld !s called

upon, apart ro" any current act!on, to represent

to h!"sel a group o d!splace"ents or a syste" o

coherent perspect!$es) It !s ro" th!s dec!s!$e

"o"ent that #e #!tness, on the plane o thoughtproperly so called, a repet!t!on o the e$olut!on

already acco"pl!shed on the sensor!"otor plane.

&ake, or e*a"ple, the ollo#!ng proble". &he

ch!ld !s presented #!th a "odel, about one s+uare

"eter !n s!4e, represent!ng three "ounta!ns !n

rel!e he !s to reconstruct the d!erent

perspect!$es !n #h!ch a l!ttle doll $!e#s the" !n

$ary!ng pos!t!ons that ollo# a g!$en order. Ao

techn!cal or $erbal d!!culty !"pedes the ch!ld, or

he "ay s!"ply po!nt #!th h!s !nger to #hat the

doll sees, or choose ro" a"ong se$eral p!ctures

sho#!ng the poss!ble perspect!$es, or construct

#!th bo*es sy"bol!s!ng "ounta!ns the photograph

the doll could take ro" a g!$en po!nt o $!e#.

Moreo$er, the proble" posed to the ch!ld cons!sts

!n represent!ng to h!"sel the s!"plest o all the

spat!al relat!ons #h!ch transcend d!rect act!on and

percept!on, that !s, to represent to h!"sel #hat he

#ould see ! he #ere !n the success!$e pos!t!ons

suggested to h!". 2t !rst !t #ould see" as though

the ch!ld%s ans#ers #ould "erely e*tend the

ac+u!s!t!ons o the s!*th stage o sensor!"otor

space and arr!$e !""ed!ately at the correct

representat!ons.


21/49

ut !nterest!ngly enough the youngest o the

ch!ldren capable o understand!ng the proble" o

the "ounta!ns and o respond!ng #!thout

d!!cult!es o a $erbal or techn!cal k!nd re$eal an

att!tude #h!ch, !nstead o e*tend!ng the ob'ect!$e

and representat!$e groups o our s!*th stage, on the

contrary, regresses to the !ntegral egocentr!s" o

the sub'ect!$e groups. /ar ro" represent!ng the

$ar!ous scenes #h!ch the doll conte"plates ro"

d!erent $!e#po!nts, the ch!ld al#ays cons!ders h!s

o#n perspect!$e as absolute and thus attr!butes !t

to the doll #!thout suspect!ng th!s conus!on. In

other #ords, #hen he !s asked #hat the doll seesro" a part!cular pos!t!on the ch!ld descr!bes #hat

he h!"sel sees ro" h!s o#n pos!t!on #!thout

tak!ng !nto account the obstacles #h!ch pre$ent the

doll ro" see!ng the sa"e $!e#. >hen he !s sho#n

se$eral p!ctures ro" a"ong #h!ch he !s to choose

the one #h!ch corresponds to the doll%s

perspect!$e, he chooses the one #h!ch represents

h!s o#n. /!nally, #hen he !s to reconstruct #!thbo*es the photograph the doll "!ght take ro" !ts

place, the ch!ld aga!n reproduces h!s o#n $!e# o

th!ngs.

&hen, #hen the ch!ld d!sengages h!"sel ro"

th!s !n!t!al egocentr!s" and "asters the

relat!onsh!ps !n$ol$ed !n these proble"s, #e

#!tness a total!ty o trans!t!onal phases. 3!ther the

ch!ld #ho beg!ns to understand that the

perspect!$e d!ers accord!ng to the doll%s pos!t!on

eects $ar!ous "!*tures bet#een those

perspect!$es and h!s o#n perspect!$e 6;pre-

relat!ons;, or else he takes !nto account only one

relat!on at a t!"e 6let-r!ght or beore-beh!nd, etc.

and does not succeed !n "ult!ply!ng the

!nterrelat!ons. &hese trans!t!ons correspond to the

l!"!ted groups o d!splace"ents belong!ng to theourth o the sensor!"otor stages. /!nally,


22/49

co"plete relat!$!ty !s atta!ned, correspond!ng to

stages B-BI o the sa"e ser!es.

(o# then can th!s te"poral d!splace"ent be

e*pla!ned, as-#ell as th!s return to the phases#h!ch ha$e already been transcended on the plane

o sensor!"otor space) &o act !n space the ch!ld !s

certa!nly obl!ged to understand l!ttle by l!ttle that

the th!ngs #h!ch surround h!" ha$e a tra'ectory

!ndependent o h!"sel and that the!r

d!splace"ents are thus grouped !n ob'ect!$e

syste"s. /ro" a purely pract!cal po!nt o $!e# the

ch!ld !s thereore led to e"erge ro" an !n!t!alegocentr!s", !n #h!ch th!ngs are cons!dered to

depend solely on h!s personal act!$!ty, and to

"aster a relat!$!ty #h!ch !s establ!shed bet#een

d!splace"ents success!$ely perce!$ed or e$en

bet#een certa!n perce!$ed "o"ents and others

#h!ch ha$e s!"ply been represented. ut the

egocentr!s" and ob'ect!$e relat!$!ty !n +uest!on

here concern only the relat!onsh!ps bet#een the

ch!ld and th!ngs, and noth!ng !n sensor!"otor

act!on orces h!" to lea$e th!s narro# real". 0o

long as the proble" !s not to represent to h!"sel

real!ty !n !tsel, but s!"ply to use !t or to e*ert an

!nluence upon !t, there !s no need to go beyond the

syste" o relat!ons establ!shed bet#een ob'ects

and sel or a"ong ob'ects as such !n the !eld o

personal perspect!$e there !s no need to assu"e

the e*!stence o other perspect!$es and to

!nterconnect the" !n !nclud!ng h!s o#n a"ong

the". &o be sure, the act by #h!ch one coners an

ob'ect!$!ty on the d!splace"ents o th!ngs already

!"pl!es an enlarge"ent o the !n!t!al egocentr!c

perspect!$e and !t !s !n th!s sense that, apropos o

the !th and s!*th sensor!"otor stages, #e ha$e

been able to speak o a change !n perspect!$e and

the "astery o a un!$erse !n #h!ch the sub'ectlocates h!"sel !nstead o br!ng!ng the un!$erse


23/49

!llus!$ely to h!". ut th!s !s only the !rst step, and

e$en !n th!s ob'ect!$e, pract!cal un!$erse,

e$eryth!ng !s related to a s!ngle ra"e o reerence

#h!ch !s that o the sub'ect and not that o other

poss!ble sub'ects. (ence there !s ob'ect!$!ty and

e$en relat!$!ty, but #!th!n the l!"!ts o a real"

#h!ch !s al#ays cons!dered absolute, because

noth!ng yet !nduces the sub'ect to transcend !t. I

#e "ay be per"!tted to "ake a so"e#hat dar!ng

co"par!son, the co"plet!on o the ob'ect!$e

pract!cal un!$erse rese"bles Ae#ton%s

ach!e$e"ents as co"pared to the egocentr!s" o

2r!stotel!an phys!cs, but the absolute Ae#ton!ant!"e and space the"sel$es re"a!n egocentr!c ro"

the po!nt o $!e# o 3!nste!n%s relat!$!ty because

they en$!sage only one perspect!$e on the un!$erse

a"ong "any other perspect!$es #h!ch are e+ually

poss!ble and real. On the contrary, ro" the t!"e

#hen the ch!ld seeks no longer "erely to act upon

th!ngs, but to represent the" to h!"sel !n

the"sel$es and !ndependently o the !""ed!ateact!on, th!s s!ngle perspect!$e, !n the "!dst o

#h!ch he had succeeded !n !ntroduc!ng ob'ect!$!ty

and relat!$!ty, no longer su!ces and has to be

coord!nated #!th the others.

&h!s !s true or t#o reasons, one relat!ng to the

sub'ect%s !ntent!on !n h!s atte"pt at representat!on,

the other to the re+u!re"ents o representat!on.

>hy at a g!$en "o"ent !n h!s "ental e$olut!on

does the sub'ect try to represent spat!al relat!ons to

h!"sel !nstead o s!"ply act!ng upon the")

Ob$!ously !n order to co""un!cate to so"eone

else or to obta!n ro" so"eone else so"e

!nor"at!on on a act concern!ng space. Outs!de o

th!s soc!al relat!on there !s no apparent reason #hy

pure representat!on should ollo# act!on. &he

e*!stence o "ult!ple perspect!$es relat!ng to$ar!ous !nd!$!duals !s thereore already !n$ol$ed !n


24/49

the ch!ld%s eort to represent space to h!"sel.

Moreo$er, to represent to h!"sel space or ob'ects

!n space !s necessar!ly to reconc!le !n a s!ngle act

the d!erent poss!ble perspect!$es on real!ty and

no longer to be sat!s!ed to adopt the"

success!$ely. &ake, or e*a"ple, a bo* or so"e

ob'ect upon #h!ch the ch!ld acts. 2t the end o h!s

sensor!"otor e$olut!on he beco"es perectly

capable o turn!ng the bo* o$er !n all d!rect!ons, o

represent!ng to h!"sel !ts re$erse s!de as #ell as

!ts $!s!ble parts, !ts contents as #ell as !ts e*ter!or.

ut do these representat!ons connected #!th

pract!cal act!$!ty, #!th the ;concrete act!$ebeha$!our; o #h!ch elb and oldste!n ha$e

spoken !n the!r !ne stud!es on space, su!ce to

const!tute a total representat!on o the bo*, a

pattern o ;or"al concept!$e beha$!our); 0urely

not, or to ach!e$e that the bo* "ust be seen ro"

all s!des at once, that !s, !t "ust be located !n a

syste" o perspect!$es !n #h!ch one can represent

!t to onesel ro" any po!nt o $!e# #hate$er andtranser !t ro" one to the other po!nt o $!e#

#!thout recourse to act!on. Ao#, ! !t !s poss!ble or

the ch!ld to !"ag!ne h!"sel as occupy!ng se$eral

pos!t!ons at one t!"e, !t !s ob$!ous that !t !s rather

by represent!ng to h!"sel the perspect!$e o

another person and by coord!nat!ng !t #!th h!s o#n

that he #!ll sol$e such a proble" !n concrete

real!ty. In th!s sense one can "a!nta!n that pure

representat!on detached ro" personal act!$!ty

presupposes adaptat!on to others and soc!al

coord!nat!on.

&hereore #e understand #hy, !n the proble" o

the "ounta!ns #h!ch !s typ!cal !n th!s respect, the

ch!ld our to s!* years o age st!ll re$eals an

egocentr!s" re"!n!scent o the beg!nn!ngs o

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence and the "ost ele"entarysub'ect!$e groups !t !s because, on the plane o


25/49

pure representat!on to #h!ch th!s e*per!"ent

perta!ns, the sub'ect "ust co"pare $ar!ous po!nts

o $!e# #!th h!s o#n, and as yet noth!ng has

prepared h!" or th!s operat!on. es!des, the

att!tudes #h!ch ha$e already been transcended !n

the relat!ons bet#een th!ngs and h!"sel reappear

#hen connect!ons are establ!shed #!th other

persons. 0oc!al egocentr!s" ollo#s sensor!"otor

egocentr!s" and reproduces !ts phases, but as the

soc!al and the representat!$e are !nterdependent

there appears to be regress!on here, #hereas the

"!nd s!"ply #ages the sa"e battles on a ne#

plane to "ake ne# con+uests.

Moreo$er, th!s te"poral d!splace"ent !n

co"prehens!on, #h!ch ar!ses #hen there !s

trans!t!on o thought ro" a lo#er to a h!gher

plane, "ay co"b!ne #!th the te"poral

d!splace"ents !n e*tens!on 6o #h!ch #e ha$e

spoken earl!er, #h!ch ar!se #hen proble"s

located on the sa"e plane present !ncreas!ng

co"ple*!ty. &hus, on the occas!on o "o$e"ents

near at hand, ater ha$!ng constructed the groups

o d!splace"ents stud!ed abo$e, the ch!ld !nds

h!"sel conronted by analogous proble"s ra!sed

by the obser$at!on o "ore d!stant "o$e"ents:

d!splace"ents relat!ng to bod!es s!tuated on the

hor!4on or to celest!al "o$e"ents. /or "any years

#e ha$e obser$ed the ch!ld%s att!tude to#ard the

"oon and oten to#ard clouds, stars, etc. unt!l he

!s about se$en years old he bel!e$es that he !s

ollo#ed by these bod!es and cons!ders the!r

apparent "o$e"ents real. /ro" the po!nt o $!e#

o space, th!s !s only an e*tens!on o the beha$!our

patterns relat!ng to nearby ob'ects obser$ed dur!ng

the !rst sensor!"otor stages. &he ch!ld, by tak!ng

appearance or real!ty, l!nks all d!splace"ents to

h!"sel, !nstead o locat!ng the" !n an ob'ect!$esyste" that !ncludes h!s o#n body #!thout be!ng


26/49

centred on !t. 0!"!larly, #e ha$e obser$ed !n our

ch!ldren analogous !llustrat!ons relat!ng to

"ounta!ns, on an e*curs!on !n the 2lps or !n an

auto"ob!le go!ng up and do#n the h!lls. 2t our or

!$e years o age the "ounta!ns st!ll see" to be

d!splaced and actually to change shape !n

connect!on #!th our o#n "o$e"ents, e*actly l!ke

the nearby ob'ects !n the sub'ect!$e groups o the

baby.

&hese last re"nants o pr!"!t!$e space !n the

ch!ld o school age lead us to the te"poral

d!splace"ents o processes relat!ng to the ob'ect. It!s sel-e$!dent that !n proport!on as the groups o

d!splace"ents re+u!re ne# construct!$e #ork on

the plane o representat!on or o conceptual

thought to co"plete the", the ob'ect, !n !ts turn,

cannot be cons!dered as ent!rely elaborated once !t

has been or"ed on the sensor!"otor plane. 2t the

t!"e o d!splace"ents !n e*tens!on, o #h!ch #e

ha$e spoken apropos o the "oon and the

"ounta!ns, the "atter !s clear. &he "ounta!ns

#h!ch "o$e and change shape #!th our

"o$e"ents are not ob'ects, s!nce they lack

per"anence o or" and "ass. 0o also a "oon

#h!ch ollo#s us !s not ;the; "oon as ob'ect o

s!"ultaneous or success!$e percept!ons o d!erent

poss!ble obser$ers. &he proo !s that at the per!od

!n #h!ch the ch!ld bel!e$es he !s be!ng ollo#ed by

the stars he bel!e$es !n the e*!stence o se$eral

"oons r!s!ng o$er and o$er aga!n and capable o

occupy!ng d!erent reg!ons o space

s!"ultaneously.

ut th!s d!!culty !n attr!but!ng substant!al

!dent!ty to d!stant ob'ects !s not the "ost

!nterest!ng res!due o the processes o

ob'ect!!cat!on pecul!ar to the stages osensor!"otor !ntell!gence. Or rather, !t const!tutes


27/49

only a res!due e*pla!nable by the s!"ple

"echan!s" o te"poral d!splace"ents !n

e*tens!on, #hereas, because o the te"poral

d!splace"ents !n co"prehens!on that cond!t!on

the trans!t!on ro" the sensor!"otor plane to the

plane o relect!$e thought, the construct!on o the

ob'ect see"s to be not only a cont!nuous process

unre"!tt!ngly pursued throughout the e$olut!on o

reason and st!ll ound !n the "ost elaborate or"s

o sc!ent!!c thought, but also a process constantly

pass!ng through phases analogous to those o the

!n!t!al sensor!"otor ser!es. &hus the d!erent

pr!nc!ples o conser$at!on #hose progress!$eor"at!on occup!es the #hole de$elop"ent o the

ch!ld%s phys!cs are only success!$e aspects o the

ob'ect!!cat!on o the un!$erse. /or e*a"ple, the

conser$at!on o "atter does not see" necessary to

the ch!ld three to s!* years old !n cases o changes

o state or e$en changes o or". 0ugar "elt!ng !n

#ater !s bel!e$ed to be return!ng to the $o!d, only

taste 6that !s, a pure +ual!ty be!ng supposed tosubs!st and that only or a e# days. 0o also, #hen

one oers the ch!ld t#o pellets o the sa"e #e!ght

and "ass and then "oulds one o the" !nto a long

cyl!nder, th!s one !s cons!dered to ha$e lost both

#e!ght and "ass. >hen one e"pt!es the contents

o a large ,bottle o #ater !nto s"all bottles or

tubes, the +uant!ty o l!+u!d !s conce!$ed as ha$!ng

been changed, etc. On the contrary, the ch!ld

subse+uently arr!$es at the concept o a necessary

conser$at!on o "atter, !ndependently o changes

o or" or o state. ut ha$!ng arr!$ed at th!s le$el,

he ne$ertheless cont!nues to bel!e$e that the

#e!ght o bod!es can change #!th the!r or" thus

the pellet by beco"!ng elongated loses #e!ght

#h!le conser$!ng the sa"e +uant!ty o "atter.

2round ele$en or t#el$e years o age, on the other

hand, the ch!ld !s so con$!nced o the conser$at!on


28/49

o #e!ght that he attr!butes to the part!cles o sugar

d!ssol$ed !n #ater the sa"e total #e!ght as to the

!n!t!al lu"p.

&hus #e see that, ro" the po!nt o $!e# oconser$at!on o "atter and #e!ght, the ch!ld aga!n,

th!s t!"e on the plane o conceptual and relect!$e

thought, passes through stages analogous to those

he tra$erses on the sensor!"otor plane ro" the

po!nt o $!e# o conser$at!on o the ob'ect !tsel.

=ust as the baby beg!ns by bel!e$!ng that ob'ects

return to the $o!d #hen they are no longer

perce!$ed and e"erge ro" !t #hen they re-enterthe perceptual !eld, so also the s!*-year-old ch!ld

st!ll th!nks the +uant!ty o "atter aug"ents or

d!"!n!shes accord!ng to the or" the ob'ect takes,

and that a substance #h!ch d!ssol$es !s co"pletely

ann!h!lated. &hen, 'ust as nu"erous !nter"ed!ate

stages e*!st bet#een the le$el on #h!ch the baby !s

the $!ct!" o appearances and that on #h!ch he

constructs a per"anence su!c!ent to "ake h!"

bel!e$e !n ob'ects, so also the ch!ld #ho talks

passes o$er a ser!es o steps beore he !s able to

postulate, !ndependently o any d!rect e*per!ence,

the constancy o #e!ght !tsel desp!te changes !n

or", and beore he or"s, #!th th!s ob'ect!$e !n

$!e#, a sort o crude ato"!s" #h!ch reconc!les

+uant!tat!$e !n$ar!ance #!th +ual!tat!$e $ar!at!ons.

(o# then can #e e*pla!n th!s te"porald!splace"ent ho# can #e e*pla!n #hy thought, at

the "o"ent !t gathers up the #ork o sensor!-

"otor !ntell!gence and !n part!cular the bel!e !n

per"anent ob'ects, does not at the outset attr!bute

to ob'ects constancy o "atter and o #e!ght) 2s

#e ha$e seen, !t !s because three or"at!$e

processes are necessary to the elaborat!on o ob'ect

concept: the acco""odat!on o the organs #h!ch"akes !t poss!ble to oresee the reappearance o


29/49

bod!es the coord!nat!on o sche"ata #h!ch "akes

!t poss!ble to endo# each o these bod!es #!th a

"ult!pl!c!ty o !nterconnected +ual!t!es and the

deduct!on pecul!ar to sensor!"otor reason!ng

#h!ch "akes !t poss!ble to understand

d!splace"ents o bod!es and to reconc!le the!r

per"anence #!th the!r apparent $ar!at!ons. &hese

three unct!onal actors - ores!ght, coord!nat!on,

and deduct!on - change ent!rely !n structure #hen

they pass ro" the sensor!"otor plane to that o

speech and conceptual operat!ons, and #hen

syste"s o classes and thoughtul relat!ons are

subst!tuted or s!"ple pract!cal sche"ata. >hereasthe substant!al ob'ect !s a "ere product o act!on

or pract!cal !ntell!gence, the concepts o +uant!ty o

"atter and conser$at!on o #e!ght presuppose on

the contrary a $ery subtle rat!onal elaborat!on. In

pract!cal ob'ect concept there !s noth!ng "ore than

the !dea o a per"anence o +ual!t!es 6or",

cons!stency, colour, etc. !ndependent o

!""ed!ate percept!on. &here !s, ho#e$er, !n theconcept o the conser$at!on o "atter such as

sugar, the clay pellet #h!ch changes shape, or the

l!+u!d poured ro" a large receptacle !nto se$eral

s"all ones, a +uant!tat!$e relat!on #h!ch as soon as

!t !s perce!$ed see"s essent!al th!s !s the !dea that

desp!te changes o state or o or" 6real or" and

no longer "erely apparent or" so"eth!ng !s

conser$ed. &h!s so"eth!ng !s not at the outset

#e!ght, but !t !s $olu"e, occup!ed space, and only

later !s !t #e!ght, that !s, a +ual!ty that !s +uant!!ed

!n so ar as !t !s cons!dered !n$ar!ant. ut or the!r

construct!on these +ual!tat!$e relat!onsh!ps do not

solely !n$ol$e a ores!ght #h!ch re"a!ns pract!cal

!n k!nd 6ores!ght o the #ater le$el #hen the sugar

!s d!ssol$ed, o the #e!ght o the pellet "ade !nto a

cyl!nder, etc. they !n$ol$e pr!"ar!ly a

coord!nat!on o classes and o log!cal relat!ons as


30/49

#ell as true deduct!on, or on the plane o thought

ores!ght gradually beco"es the unct!on o

deduct!on !nstead o preced!ng !t.

In the case o the sugar #h!ch d!ssol$es !n #ater,ho# does the ch!ld succeed !n postulat!ng the

per"anence o "atter and e$en !n "ak!ng the

ato"!c hypothes!s o !n$!s!ble part!cles o sugar

per"eat!ng the l!+u!d, part!cles #hose total

$olu"e e+uals that o the !n!t!al lu"p, to the po!nt

o e*pla!n!ng that the #ater le$el re"a!ns abo$e

the or!g!nal le$el. /ro" all the e$!dence th!s !s not

a s!"ple lesson o e*per!ence or, as !n the case othe per"anence o the pract!cal ob'ect, an

!ntell!gent structur!ng o e*per!ence, but rather a

deduct!on #h!ch !s pr!"ar!ly due to thought and !n

#h!ch a co"ple* ser!es o concepts and relat!ons

!nter$enes. 0o also, the !dea that the pellet

conser$es !ts #e!ght #h!le beco"!ng a cyl!nder !s a

deduct!$e construct!on #h!ch e*per!ence does not

su!ce to e*pla!n, or the ch!ld has ne!ther the

"eans to peror" the del!cate #e!gh!ng that

$er!!cat!on o such a hypothes!s #ould necess!tate

nor, abo$e alt the cur!os!ty to atte"pt such a

$er!!cat!on, because !ts a!r"at!on see"s to h!"

sel-e$!dent and because as a general rule the

proble" does not ar!se or h!". >hat !s "ost

!nterest!ng !n the ch!ld%s react!on !s the act that,

ha$!ng doubtless ne$er thought about the proble",

he sol$es !t at once a prioriand #!th such certa!nty

that he !s surpr!sed !t #as ra!sed, #hereas a year or

t#o earl!er he #ould ha$e sol$ed !t !n prec!sely the

oppos!te d!rect!on and #ould not ha$e had

recourse to the !dea o conser$at!on!th


39/49

regard to spat!al!sat!on o the causal connect!on

the sa"e te"poral d!splace"ent bet#een

representat!on and act!on !s obser$able. &hus the

ch!ld can ackno#ledge !n pract!ce the necess!ty or

a spat!al contact bet#een cause and eect, but that

does not "ake causal!ty geo"etr!c or "echan!cal.

/or e*a"ple, the parts o a b!cycle all see"

necessary to the ch!ld long beore he th!nks o

establ!sh!ng !rre$ers!ble causal ser!es a"ong the".

(o#e$er, subse+uent to these pr!"!t!$e stages o

representat!on dur!ng #h!ch one sees reappear on

the plane o thought or"s o causal!ty relat!$e tothose o the !rst sensor!"otor stages and #h!ch

see" surpassed by the causal structures o the !nal

stages o sensor!"otor !ntell!gence, one #!tnesses

a truly relect!$e ob'ect!!cat!on and spat!al!sat!on,

#hose progress !s parallel to that #h!ch #e ha$e

descr!bed on the plane o act!on. &hus !t !s that

subse+uent to the an!"!s" and dyna"!s" #e ha$e

'ust "ent!oned, #e see a gradual ;"echan!s";

tak!ng or", correlat!$e to the pr!nc!ples o

conser$at!on descr!bed !n D F and to the

elaborat!on o a relat!$e space. Causal!ty, l!ke the

other categor!es, thereore e$ol$es on the plane o

thought ro" an !n!t!al egocentr!s" to a co"b!ned

ob'ect!$!ty and relat!$!ty, thus reproduc!ng, !n

surpass!ng, !ts earl!er sensor!"otor e$olut!on.

>!th regard to t!"e, concern!ng #h!ch #e ha$etr!ed to descr!be on the purely pract!cal plane o

the !rst t#o years o l!e the transor"at!on ro"

sub'ect!$e ser!es !nto ob'ect!$e ser!es, there !s no

need to e"phas!se the parallel!s" o th!s e$olut!on

#!th that #h!ch, on the plane o thought, !s

character!sed by the trans!t!on ro" !nternal

durat!on, conce!$ed as the sole te"poral "odel, to

phys!cal t!"e const!tuted by +uant!tat!$e relat!onsbet#een spat!al gu!de-"arks and e*ternal e$ents.


40/49

ur!ng the !rst phases o representat!$e thought

the ch!ld does not succeed !n est!"at!ng e!ther

concrete durat!on or e$en rates o speed e*cept ,by

reerr!ng the" to "ere psycholog!cal t!"e.

0ubse+uently, on the contrary, he constructs !n

thought, and no longer only !n act!on, ob'ect!$e

ser!es connect!ng !nternal durat!on to phys!cal

t!"e and to the h!story o the e*ternal un!$erse

!tsel. /or !nstance, ! one dra#s !n ront o a ch!ld

t#o concentr!c !gures one o #h!ch descr!bes a b!g

c!rcle and the other a "uch s"aller one, and ! one

"akes t#o auto"ob!les o the sa"e d!"ens!ons

co$er these t#o tra'ector!es at the sa"e t!"e, theyoungest sub'ects cannot a$o!d bel!e$!ng that the

auto"ob!le ollo#!ng the s"all c!rcle #ent ;aster;

than the other. ;/aster; !n th!s case s!"ply "eans

;"ore eas!ly,; ;#!th less eort,; etc., but the ch!ld

does not take !nto account the relat!on bet#een

t!"e and the space co$ered. /or adults, on the

contrary, speed !s "easured by th!s relat!on, and

the e*press!on ;aster; loses !ts sub'ect!$e"ean!ng. 0o also, the e*press!ons ;"ore t!"e; or

;less t!"e; ha$e no ob'ect!$e "ean!ng or l!ttle

ch!ldren and ac+u!re !t or adults, etc.

5. Conclusion

&he or"at!on o the un!$erse, #h!ch see"ed

acco"pl!shed #!th that o sensor!"otor

!ntell!gence, !s cont!nued throughout thede$elop"ent o thought, #h!ch !s natural, but !s

cont!nued #h!le see"!ng at !rst to repeat !tsel,

beore truly progress!ng to enco"pass the data o

act!on !n a representat!$e syste" o the total!ty.

&h!s !s the !nor"at!on #e ha$e 'ust ga!ned ro" a

co"par!son o our present obser$at!ons #!th the

results o e*a"!n!ng the representat!ons o the

ch!ld o three to t#el$e years o age.


41/49

&o understand the scope o such a act #e "ust

a"pl!y #hat #e sa!d !n D1 o these conclus!ons

about the relat!ons bet#een !ntellectual

ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on, by apply!ng

these relect!ons to the processes o thought !tsel.

>e ha$e tr!ed to sho# ho#, on the sensor!"otor

plane, ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on, at !rst

und!erent!ated but pull!ng beha$!our !n oppos!te

d!rect!ons, gradually beca"e d!erent!ated and

co"ple"entary. /ro" #hat #e ha$e seen #!th

regard to space, ob'ect, causal!ty, and t!"e !t !s

clear that on the plane o representat!$e thought,#h!ch !s at the sa"e t!"e that o soc!al

relat!onsh!ps or coord!nat!on a"ong !nd!$!dual

"!nds, ne# ass!"!lat!ons and acco""odat!ons

beco"e necessary and these !n turn beg!n #!th a

phase o chaot!c und!erent!at!on and later

proceed to a co"ple"entary d!erent!at!on and

har"on!sat!on.

ur!ng the earl!est stages o thought,

acco""odat!on re"a!ns on the surace o phys!cal

as #ell as soc!al e*per!ence. O course, on the plane

o act!on the ch!ld !s no longer ent!rely do"!nated

by the appearance o th!ngs, because through

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence he has "anaged to

construct a coherent pract!cal un!$erse by

co"b!n!ng acco""odat!on to ob'ects #!th

ass!"!lat!on o ob'ects to !ntercoord!natedstructures. ut #hen !t !s a +uest!on o

transcend!ng act!on to or" an !"personal

representat!on o real!ty, that !s, a co""un!cable

!"age dest!ned to atta!n truth rather than "ere

ut!l!ty, acco""odat!on to th!ngs !nds !tsel at

gr!ps #!th ne# d!!cult!es. It !s no longer a "atter

only o act!ng but o descr!b!ng, not only o

oresee!ng but o e*pla!n!ng, and e$en ! thesensor!"otor sche"ata are already adapted to


42/49

the!r o#n unct!on, #h!ch !s to !nsure the

e+u!l!br!u" bet#een !nd!$!dual act!$!ty and the

perce!$ed en$!ron"ent, thought !s obl!ged to

construct a ne# representat!on o th!ngs to sat!sy

the co""on consc!ousness and the de"ands o a

concept!on o total!ty. In th!s sense the !rst contact

o thought, properly so called, #!th the "ater!al

un!$erse const!tutes #hat "ay be called

;!""ed!ate e*per!ence; !n contrad!st!nct!on to

e*per!"entat!on #h!ch !s sc!ent!!c or corrected by

the ass!"!lat!on o th!ngs to reason.

I""ed!ate e*per!ence, that !s, theacco""odat!on o thought to the surace o th!ngs,

!s s!"ply e"p!r!cal e*per!ence #h!ch cons!ders, as

ob'ect!$e datu", real!ty as !t appears to d!rect

percept!on. In the nu"erous cases !n #h!ch real!ty

co!nc!des #!th appearance th!s super!c!al contact

#!th the ob'ect su!ces to lead to truth. ut the

urther one departs ro" the !eld o !""ed!ate

act!on to construct an ade+uate representat!on o

real!ty, the "ore necessary !t !s, to understand the

pheno"ena, to !nclude the" !n a net#ork o

relat!ons beco"!ng !ncreas!ngly re"ote ro"

appearance and to !nsert appearance !n a ne#

real!ty elaborated by reason. In other #ords, !t

beco"es "ore and "ore necessary to correct

appearance and th!s re+u!res the or"at!on o

relat!onsh!ps a"ong, or the rec!procal ass!"!lat!on

o, $ar!ous po!nts o $!e#. In the e*a"ple #e c!ted

!n DF o the groups o d!splace"ents relat!ng to

"ounta!ns, !t !s ob$!ous that a #hole structur!ng o

e*per!ence, that !s, a rat!onal ass!"!lat!on and

coord!nat!on o "any poss!ble po!nts o $!e#, !s

!nd!spensable to "ake the ch!ld understand that,

desp!te appearance, "ounta!ns do not d!splace

the"sel$es #hen one "o$es !n relat!on to the"

and that the $ar!ous perspect!$es on the" do note*clude the per"anence o the!r or". &he sa"e


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appl!es to attr!but!ng stat!onary banks to a r!$er or

a lake #hen the boat ad$ances and, !n a general

#ay, to organ!s!ng d!stant space no longer

depend!ng on d!rect act!on. Concern!ng ob'ects let

us cons!der the d!erence bet#een !""ed!ate

e*per!ence relat!ng to the stars, that !s, s!"ple

acco""odat!on o percept!on to the!r apparent

s!4e and "o$e"ents, ro" the real e*per!ence

#h!ch the "!nd ac+u!res #hen !t co"b!nes that

acco""odat!on #!th an ass!"!lat!on o the sa"e

data to the act!$!ty o reason. /ro" the !rst o

these po!nts o $!e#, the stars are l!ttle balls or

spots located at the sa"e he!ght as clouds the!r"o$e"ents depend on our o#n #alk!ng and the!r

per"anence !s !"poss!ble to deter"!ne 6e$en #!th

respect to the sun, there are ch!ldren #ho bel!e$e

!n !ts !dent!ty #!th the "oon #hen they do not, on

the contrary, a!r" the e*!stence o se$eral suns

and "oons. /ro" the second po!nt o $!e#, on the

contrary, real d!"ens!ons and d!stances no longer

ha$e any relat!on to appearance, the actualtra'ector!es correspond #!th the apparent

"o$e"ents only through relat!onsh!ps o

!ncreas!ng co"ple*!ty, and the !dent!ty o celest!al

bod!es beco"es the unct!on o th!s syste" o

total!ty. >hat !s true on a large scale o the stars !s

al#ays true, on e$ery scale, o ob'ects on #h!ch

d!rect act!on does not bear. >!th regard to

causal!ty, the !rst e*a"ple seen, l!ke that o the

loat!ng o boats so suggest!$e to the ch!ld, g!$es

r!se to the sa"e cons!derat!ons. y ollo#!ng the

course o !""ed!ate e*per!ence the ch!ld beg!ns by

bel!e$!ng that s"all boats loat because they are

l!ght but #hen he sees a t!ny p!ece o lead or a

l!ttle pebble gl!d!ng along at the botto" o the

#ater, he adds that these bod!es are doubtless too

l!ght and s"all to be held back by the #ater

"oreo$er b!g boats loat because they are hea$y


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and can thus carry the"sel$es. In short, ! one

re"a!ns on the surace o th!ngs, e*planat!on !s

poss!ble only at the pr!ce o cont!nuous

contrad!ct!ons, because, ! !t !s to e"brace the

s!nuos!ty o real!ty, thought "ust constantly add

apparent connect!ons to one another !nstead o

coord!nat!ng the" !n a coherent syste" o total!ty.

On the contrary, the contact o the "!nd #!th real

e*per!ence leads to a s!"ple e*planat!on, but on

cond!t!on o co"plet!ng th!s ele"entary

acco""odat!on o thought to the !""ed!ate data

o percept!on by a correlat!$e ass!"!lat!on o these

data to a syste" o relat!onsh!ps 6bet#een #e!ghtand $olu"e, etc. #h!ch reason succeeds !n

elaborat!ng only by replac!ng the appearance o

th!ngs #!th a real construct!on. et us also be

sat!s!ed, !n the real" o t!"e and durat!on, #!th a

s!ngle e*a"ple, that o the d!ssoc!at!on o the

concept o speed !nto relat!ons bet#een the

concepts o t!"e and the space tra$ersed. /ro" the

po!nt o $!e# o !""ed!ate e*per!ence, the ch!ldsucceeds $ery soon !n est!"at!ng speeds o #h!ch

he has d!rect a#areness, the spaces tra$ersed !n an

!dent!cal t!"e or the ;beore; and ;ater; !n arr!$al

at a goal !n cases o tra'ector!es o the sa"e length.

ut there !s a cons!derable gap bet#een th!s and a

d!ssoc!at!on o the not!on o speed to e*tract a

"easure"ent o t!"e, or th!s #ould !n$ol$e

replac!ng the d!rect !ntu!t!ons pecul!ar to the

ele"entary acco""odat!on o thought to th!ngs by

a syste" o relat!ons !n$ol$!ng a construct!$e

ass!"!lat!on.

In short, thought !n all real"s starts ro" a

surace contact #!th the e*ternal real!t!es, that !s, a

s!"ple acco""odat!on to !""ed!ate e*per!ence.

>hy then, does th!s acco""odat!on re"a!n, !n the

true sense o the #ord, super!c!al, and #hy does !tnot at once lead to correct!ng the sensory


45/49

!"press!on by rat!onal truth) ecause, and th!s !s

#hat #e are lead!ng up to, pr!"!t!$e

acco""odat!on o thought, as pre$!ously that o

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence, !s und!erent!ated ro"

a d!stort!ng ass!"!lat!on o real!ty to the sel and !s

at the sa"e t!"e or!ented !n the oppos!te d!rect!on.

ur!ng th!s phase o super!c!al acco""odat!on

to phys!cal and soc!al e*per!ence, #e obser$e a

cont!nuous ass!"!lat!on o the un!$erse not only to

the !"personal structure o the "!nd - #h!ch !s not

co"pleted e*cept on the sensor!"otor plane - but

also and pr!"ar!ly to the personal po!nt o $!e#, to!nd!$!dual e*per!ence, and e$en to the des!res and

aect!$!ty o the sub'ect. Cons!dered !n !ts soc!al

aspect, th!s d!stort!ng ass!"!lat!on cons!sts, as #e

ha$e seen 6D?, !n a sort o egocentr!s" o thought

so that thought, st!ll unsub"!ss!$e to the nor"s o

!ntellectual rec!proc!ty and log!c, seeks sat!sact!on

rather than truth and transor"s real!ty !nto a

unct!on o personal aect!$!ty. /ro" the po!nt o

$!e# o the adaptat!on o thought to the phys!cal

un!$erse th!s ass!"!lat!on leads to a ser!es o

conse+uences o !nterest to us here. In the do"a!n

o space, or e*a"ple, !t !s e$!dent that, ! the ch!ld

re"a!ns do"!nated by the !""ed!ate e*per!ence

o the "ounta!n #h!ch !s d!splaced and by the

other super!c!al acco""odat!ons #e ha$e

d!scussed, !t !s because these re"a!n

und!erent!ated ro" a cont!nual ass!"!lat!on o

real!ty to the personal po!nt o $!e# thus the ch!ld

bel!e$es that h!s o#n d!splace"ents go$ern those

o the "ounta!ns, the sky, etc. &he sa"e I0 true o

ob'ects. &o the e*tent the ch!ld has d!!culty, or

e*a"ple, !n const!tut!ng the !dent!ty o the "oon

and the stars !n general because he does not

transcend the !""ed!ate e*per!ence o the!r

apparent "o$e"ents, !t !s because he st!ll bel!e$eshe !s ollo#ed by the" and thus ass!"!lates the


46/49

!"age o the!r d!splace"ents to h!s o#n po!nt o

$!e#, e*actly l!ke the baby #hose un!$erse !s !ll

ob'ect!!ed because !t !s too closely centred on h!s

o#n act!$!ty. >!th regard to causal!ty, ! the ch!ld

has d!!culty !n !ntegrat!ng h!s e*planat!ons !nto a

coherent syste" o relat!ons, th!s !s aga!n because

acco""odat!on to the +ual!tat!$e d!$ers!ty o

real!ty re"a!ns und!erent!ated ro" an

ass!"!lat!on o pheno"ena to personal act!$!ty.

>hy, or !nstance, are boats conce!$ed as hea$y or

l!ght !n the"sel$es, #!thout cons!derat!on o the

relat!on o #e!ght and $olu"e, ! not because

#e!ght !s e$aluated as the unct!on o the sub'ect%s"uscular e*per!ence !nstead o be!ng transor"ed

!nto an ob'ect!$e relat!onsh!p) 0o also, the pr!"acy

o !nternal durat!on o$er e*ternal t!"e attests to

the e*!stence o a d!stort!ng ass!"!lat!on #h!ch

necessar!ly acco"pan!es pr!"!t!$e acco""odat!on

o the "!nd to the surace o e$ents.

&he super!c!al acco""odat!on o the

beg!nn!ngs o thought and the d!stort!ng

ass!"!lat!on o real!ty to the sel are thereore at

!rst und!erent!ated and they operate !n oppos!te

d!rect!ons. &hey are und!erent!ated because the

!""ed!ate e*per!ence #h!ch character!ses the

or"er al#ays, !n the last analys!s, cons!sts !n

cons!der!ng the personal po!nt o $!e# as the

e*press!on o the absolute and thus !n sub'ect!ng

the appearance o th!ngs to an egocentr!c

ass!"!lat!on, 'ust as th!s ass!"!lat!on !s necessar!ly

on a par #!th a d!rect percept!on that e*cludes the

construct!on o a rat!onal syste" o relat!ons. ut

at the beg!nn!ng, ho#e$er und!erent!ated "ay be

these acco""odat!$e operat!ons and those !n

#h!ch ass!"!lat!on "ay be d!scerned, they #ork !n

oppos!te d!rect!ons. Prec!sely because !""ed!ate

e*per!ence !s acco"pan!ed by an ass!"!lat!on opercept!ons to the sche"ata o personal act!$!ty or


47/49

"odelled ater !t, acco""odat!on to the !nner

#ork!ngs o th!ngs !s constantly !"peded by !t.

In$ersely, ass!"!lat!on o th!ngs to the sel !s

constantly held !n check by the res!stances

necess!tat!ng th!s acco""odat!on, s!nce there !s

!n$ol$ed at least the appearance o real!ty, #h!ch !s

not unl!"!tedly pl!ant to the sub'ect%s #!ll. 0o also,

on the soc!al plane, the constra!nt !"posed by the

op!n!on o others th#arts egocentr!s" and $!ce

$ersa, although the t#o att!tudes o !"!tat!on o

others and ass!"!lat!on to the sel are constantly

coe*!stent and re$eal the sa"e d!!cult!es o

adaptat!on to rec!proc!ty and true cooperat!on.

On the contrary, gradually, as the ch!ld%s thought

e$ol$es, ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on are

d!erent!ated and beco"e !ncreas!ngly

co"ple"entary. In the real" o representat!on o

the #orld th!s "eans, on the one hand, that

acco""odat!on, !nstead o re"a!n!ng on the

surace o e*per!ence, penetrates !t "ore and "ore

deeply, that !s, under the chaos o appearances !t

seeks regular!t!es and beco"es capable o real

e*per!"entat!ons to establ!sh the". On the other

hand, ass!"!lat!on, !nstead o reduc!ng pheno"ena

to the concepts !nsp!red by personal act!$!ty,

!ncorporates the" !n the syste" o relat!onsh!ps

r!s!ng ro" the "ore proound act!$!ty o

!ntell!gence !tsel. &rue e*per!ence and deduct!$e

construct!on thus beco"e s!"ultaneously separate

and correlat!$e, #hereas !n the soc!al real" the

!ncreas!ngly close ad'ust"ent o personal thought

to that o others and the rec!procal or"at!on o

relat!onsh!ps o perspect!$es !nsures the poss!b!l!ty

o a cooperat!on that const!tutes prec!sely the

en$!ron"ent that !s a$ourable to th!s elaborat!on

o reason.


48/49

&hus !t "ay be seen that thought !n !ts $ar!ous

aspects reproduces on !ts o#n plane the processes

o e$olut!on #e ha$e obser$ed !n the case o

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence and the structure o the

!n!t!al pract!cal un!$erse. &he de$elop"ent o

reason, outl!ned on the sensor!"otor le$el, ollo#s

the sa"e la#s, once soc!al l!e and relect!$e

thought ha$e been or"ed. Conronted by the

obstacles #h!ch the ad$ent o those ne# real!t!es

ra!ses, at the beg!nn!ng o th!s second per!od o

!ntellectual e$olut!on ass!"!lat!on and

acco""odat!on aga!n !nd the"sel$es !n a

s!tuat!on through #h!ch they had already passedon the lo#er plane. ut !n proceed!ng ro" the

purely !nd!$!dual state character!st!c o

sensor!"otor !ntell!gence to the cooperat!on #h!ch

de!nes the plane on #h!ch thought #!ll "o$e

henceorth, the ch!ld, ater ha$!ng o$erco"e h!s

egocentr!s" and the other obstacles #h!ch !"pede

th!s cooperat!on, rece!$es ro" !t the !nstru"ents

necessary to e*tend the rat!onal construct!onprepared dur!ng the !rst t#o years o l!e and to

e*pand !t !nto a syste" o log!cal relat!onsh!ps and

ade+uate representat!ons.

urther *ea$ing2

3enetic E&iste#olog4 iogra&h4 0ar6ist

Pscholog4 7gots8 "rchive

e8tors84 Stages in 0ental :eveloent of

Chil$ren(El8onin) The Chil$ an$ his

ehavior(uria)

-rigins of Thought in the Chil$4 Pschological

:eveloent of the Chil$; (,allon)

Pscholog *eference4 Piaget on 7gots8

Philoso&h "rchive < #ar6ists.org
https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/piaget.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/p/i.htm#piaget-jeanhttps://www.marxists.org/subject/psychology/marxists.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/subject/psychology/marxists.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/lektorsky/subject-object/ch01.htm#s2https://www.marxists.org/archive/elkonin/works/1971/stages.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/elkonin/works/1971/stages.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/luria/works/1930/child/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/luria/works/1930/child/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/wallon/works/1947/ch6.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/wallon/works/1965/ch10.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/wallon/works/1965/ch10.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/subject/psychology/reference.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/comment/piaget.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/p/i.htm#piaget-jeanhttps://www.marxists.org/subject/psychology/marxists.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/subject/psychology/marxists.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/lektorsky/subject-object/ch01.htm#s2https://www.marxists.org/archive/elkonin/works/1971/stages.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/elkonin/works/1971/stages.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/luria/works/1930/child/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/luria/works/1930/child/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/wallon/works/1947/ch6.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/wallon/works/1965/ch10.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/wallon/works/1965/ch10.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/subject/psychology/reference.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/comment/piaget.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/index.htmhttps://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/piaget.htm


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Documents

A Elaboração Do Universo Na Infância Jean Piaget