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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 $erbaland conceptual real!t!es, there !s not only a l!near
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cont!nu!ty but also there are te"poral
d!splace"ents !n e*tens!on, so that !n the presence
o e$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!$!ng at pure proos or 'udg"entsproperly so called, but !t "ust be sa!d that these
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'udg"ents, ! they #ere e*pressed !n #ords, #ould
be e+u!$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
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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$eloped !n relat!on to the soc!al group than
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!n the real" o sensor!"otor !ntell!gence and 6 ?
that to "ake poss!ble the adaptat!on o the "!nd to
the group these unct!ons "ust proceed aga!n o$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 $ery
!"portant !n the structure o the ch!ld%s thought at!ts beg!nn!ngs. =ust as sensor!"otor !ntell!gence
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starts as the ass!"!lat!on o ob'ects to the sche"ata
o personal act!$!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
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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!$e
!nant!le reason!ng see"s to return to the
sensor!"otor coord!nat!ons o the !th and s!*thstages: not yet a"!l!ar #!th classes or relat!ons
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properly so called, !t cons!sts !n s!"ple us!ons, !n
transduct!ons proceed!ng by syncret!c
ass!"!lat!ons. It !s only !n the course o a labor!ous
de$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
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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.
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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!$e 6;pre-
relat!ons;, or else he takes !nto account only one
relat!on at a t!"e 6let-r!ght or beore-beh!nd, etc.
and does not succeed !n "ult!ply!ng the
!nterrelat!ons. &hese trans!t!ons correspond to the
l!"!ted groups o d!splace"ents belong!ng to theourth o the sensor!"otor stages. /!nally,
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co"plete relat!$!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!$erse
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!llus!$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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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$e pr!"ar!ly a
coord!nat!on o classes and o log!cal relat!ons as
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#ell as true deduct!on, or on the plane o thought
ores!ght gradually beco"es the unct!on o
deduct!on !nstead o preced!ng !t.
In the case o the sugar #h!ch d!ssol$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$at!on!th
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regard to spat!al!sat!on o the causal connect!on
the sa"e te"poral d!splace"ent bet#een
representat!on and act!on !s obser$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.
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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$e years o age.
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&o understand the scope o such a act #e "ust
a"pl!y #hat #e sa!d !n D1 o these conclus!ons
about the relat!ons bet#een !ntellectual
ass!"!lat!on and acco""odat!on, by apply!ng
these relect!ons to the processes o thought !tsel.
>e ha$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
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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
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!"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
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!"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
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"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.
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&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.htm7/26/2019 A Elaborao Do Universo Na Infncia Jean Piaget
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