The psychologist and philosopher - Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology
The Psychologist and Philosopher - Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology
Yehuda Allen Azoulay
Yeshiva University – Azrieli Graduate School
Educational Psychology and Jewish Learning Course/JED 5010
February 9, 2016
Dr. Eliezer Schnall
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The psychologist and philosopher - Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology
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Abstract
This essay analyzes Jean Piaget’s life work on genetic epistemology. Jean Piaget, a renowned
psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies and theory of cognitive
development, suggests that children pass through four different stages of mental development.
His theory focuses on understanding how children acquire knowledge, with an emphasis on
understanding the nature of intelligence. In his book Genetic Epistemology he states, “What the
genetic epistemology proposes is discovering the roots of the different varieties of knowledge,
since its elementary forms, following to the next levels, including also the scientific knowledge.”
The essay also discusses Piaget’s theory of object permanence, which refers to a child’s
understanding that objects continue to exist even when the child cannot currently see, hear, or
touch them.’ Jean Piaget is still very influential today through his numerous publications,
particularly those relating to epistemological studies.
The psychologist and philosopher - Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology
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Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was born in Switzerland. He showed an interest in the natural
sciences at a very young age. The budding prodigy wrote a short paper about an albino sparrow
(a rare bird) when he was only eleven years old. He continued his studies in the natural sciences
and received his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Neuchatel in 1918. In 1955 Piaget
founded the International Center for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva, and served as its director
until his passing. The Center was exceptionally influential, and was often referred to in the
scholarly literature as “Piaget’s factory.” The famed philosopher and Emeritus Professor of
Psychology at the University of Georgia, Ernst von Glasersfeld, called Piaget “the great pioneer
of the constructivist theory of knowing.”
In 1934, when Jean Piaget became the Director of the International Bureau of Education,
he stated, “Only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether
violent, or gradual.” He also declared that, “The principal goal of education in the schools should
be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what
other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who
can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered” (Piaget, Education for
Democracy, Proceedings from the Cambridge School Conference on Progressive Education,
1988).
Piaget identified himself as a genetic epistemologist. Genetic epistemology is the study of
the origins of knowledge, which was established by Piaget. The goal of genetic epistemology is
to link the validity of knowledge to the model of its construction. In other words, it shows that
the method by which knowledge is obtained or created affects the validity of that knowledge.
Piaget was essentially interested not only in the nature of the thought process itself, but in how it
develops and how genetics impacts this process. In his book Genetic Epistemology he states,
The psychologist and philosopher - Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology
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“What the genetic epistemology proposes is discovering the roots of the different varieties of
knowledge, since its elementary forms, following to the next levels, including also the scientific
knowledge.”
Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the nature
and development of human intelligence. It is primarily known as a developmental stage theory.
He suggested that children sort the knowledge they acquire through their personal experiences
and daily interactions into groupings known as schemas. Once the new information is acquired, it
can either be “assimilated” into existing schemas or “accommodated” through revising existing
schema or creating an entirely new category of information. Piaget’s theory has four stages; 1)
the sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2), 2) the preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7), 3) the concrete
operational stage (ages 7 to12), and 4) the formal operation stage (ages 12 onwards).
Piaget’s theory of object permanence refers to a child’s awareness that objects continue
to exist even when they can no longer be seen or heard by the child. The sensorimotor stage of
development is a period that lasts from birth to about age two. Piaget suggests that at this stage
of development children understand the world through their motor abilities -- through touch,
vision, taste and movement. In order to determine whether a child had grasped the idea of object
permanence, Piaget would present a toy to a toddler before hiding it or taking it away. Some of
the toddlers would appear confused or upset by the toy’s disappearance, while others would look
for it. Piaget strongly believed that the children who were disappointed that the toy was gone
lacked the understanding of object permanence. Thus those who searched for the toy had reached
a developmental milestone.
The term “accommodation” according to Piaget refers to part of the “adaptation” process.
The process of accommodation involves altering one’s existing schemas, or ideas, after obtaining
The psychologist and philosopher - Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology
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new information or undergoing new experiences.. For example, a young child may have an
existing “schema” for dogs. After the child encounters a dog, he/she may unconsciously believe
that all animals with four legs are dogs. The child is then confused when his mother tells him that
a cow is not a dog. He then adjusts his understanding of animals using this new information.
Now he understands that cows produce milk while dogs do not. The child can now distinguish
between the two animals. Once he learns that cows also have four legs, he/she will endure
accommodation in which the child’s existing schema for dogs will change, and she will also
develop a new schema for cows.
Jean Piaget’s clinical method is based on an experimenter playing a father-like role in
semi-structured conversations with a child. The experimenter may ask the child questions. Piaget
does not necessarily focus on the child’s answers, though they are important. Rather his central
focus is on the reasoning that underlies the child’s responses. In cases where children gave
incorrect answers to a test, Piaget discovered that these wrong answers often provided more
insight into their minds than the correct ones did. He noticed there were patterns within
children’s mistakes. He analyzed these results and arrived at an understanding of the children’s
decisions.
It used to be that both educators and society at large felt that children were meant to
absorb knowledge by memorization. Jean Piaget maintained that memorization is only part of
absorption. More important is that a child be active and engage in constructive thinking. Piaget
would constantly ask his experimenters: What is the reason behind the answers you received?
Why did he/she give that answer? Based on this approach one might suggest that in previous
generation, students had to understand their teachers, while nowadays teachers have to
understand their students.
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Conclusion
Jean Piaget’s work has had significant influence on the fields of education and child psychology.
He is still viewed as an exceptional psychologist and philosopher, but most importantly an
educator par excellence. Jean Piaget developed an appealing method, which seeks to better our
understanding of child psychology.
Firstly, he developed the theory of the child to explain the logic of chidren’s answers. It was
interesting to see how in his research of children’s thought processes he analyzed the patterns
which shed light on these processes Typically, educators focus on the correct answers given on a
test. Instead Piaget employed a unique methodology which explored the incorrect answers. This
method has led me to decide that the next time I teach in a classroom setting I will pay special
attention to the students’ incorrect assessments, and hope to see a pattern which will help me to
arrive at a clear understanding of the results.
Furthermore, Piaget stressed that knowledge and understanding are not solely about consuming
numerous facts. They are also about structuring and understanding how the facts work together.
This approach is extremely relevant to my 12th grade class on philosophy. I often feel that the
curriculum is overwhelming, and at times I feel like I am just feeding the students endless
amount of information which they do not truly understand. Piaget’s emphasis on structure is
essential, and this tool will help me not only with organizing material but in my everyday life as
well.
Lastly, Piaget had over 50 publications and wrote 37 volumes in the series of “Etudes
d’Epistémologie Génétique.” His work created interest in child development and had an
immense impact on the future of education and developmental psychology. His dedication to
numerous fields in psychology and his many and varied publications attest to his passion for
inspiring and educating the masses. This inspires me personally to pursue my goal and life
ambition to preserve Sephardic heritage.
The psychologist and philosopher - Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology
References
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory into practice (10th Ed.). Boston: Allyn &
Bacon, .20, 30, 31, 40, 57-58, 60, 61, 62, 66, 74, 150, 219.
Piaget, J. (1990). The child’s conception of the world. New York, NY: Littlefield Adams.
Piaget , J. (1970b). Genetic epistemology ( E Duckworth , Translator). New York: Norton.
Jean Piaget Society, Society for the Study of Knowledge and Development. Retrieved April 11,
2013 from http://www.piaget.org/
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