Darwinism and developmental psychology

This article first examines the way in which early developmental psychologists interpreted and modified Darwin's original insights in the direction of both recapitulation and organic selection. It then examines some of the scientific and extrascientific factors that led the young Piaget to reje...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the history of the behavioral sciences 1983-01, Vol.19 (1), p.81-94
Main Authors: Vidal, Fernando, Buscaglia, Marino, Vonèche, J. Jacques
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Darwin
History of medicine
History, Modern 1601
Piaget
Psychology - history
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article first examines the way in which early developmental psychologists interpreted and modified Darwin's original insights in the direction of both recapitulation and organic selection. It then examines some of the scientific and extrascientific factors that led the young Piaget to reject Darwinism. Finally, it notices that, in spite of their fundamental differences vis‐à‐vis Darwinian evolutionary theory, the early developmental psychologists and Piaget shared a key aspect of the Darwinian legacy to the sciences of mind: a deep faith in the explanatory powers of organic roots.
ISSN:0022-5061
1520-6696
DOI:10.1002/1520-6696(198301)19:1<81::AID-JHBS2300190109>3.0.CO;2-G