The Work of the Imagination - (Understanding Children's Worlds) by Paul L Harris (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- This book demonstrates how children's imagination makes a continuing contribution to their cognitive and emotional development.
- About the Author: Paul L. Harris is Professor of Developmental Psychology, Oxford University, and Fellow in Psychology, St. John's College, Oxford.
- 236 Pages
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology & Cognition
- Series Name: Understanding Children's Worlds
Description
Book Synopsis
This book demonstrates how children's imagination makes a continuing contribution to their cognitive and emotional development.From the Back Cover
A long intellectual tradition, uniting such diverse figures as Freud and Piaget, states that children's early fantasy life is primitive and disorganized. In The Work of the Imagination Paul Harris argues against this tradition, showing that children's ability to imagine hypothetical and counterfactual possibilities makes a continuing contribution to their cognitive and emotional development. In particular, he reveals how children's ability to entertain such possibilities is critical for making causal and moral judgements.Incorporating a unique, cross-cutting approach, The Work of the Imagination discusses a number of key topics in cognitive development that are usually discussed quite separately.
Review Quotes
"In a book as creative and inventive as his subject matter, Paul Harris leads us on an intriguing journey into the world of, and the work of, the imagination...he shows us how thoroughly the mundane, the imaginative, and the magical intermingle, in childhood and adulthood, to form the very nature of human cognition." Henry M. Wellman, University of Michigan.
"Paul Harris's intriguing and lucid book summarizes twenty years of empirical research." Alison Gopnik, Science, April 2001
"A fascinating, accessible and extremely well-researched introduction to how much evolutionary psychologists have learnt over the past few years about this unique ability." Infancia y Aprendizaje, vol 24(2), 2001.
"Ground-breaking...this book is quickly becoming required reading for all students of cognitive development and will have an important impact on the field". Social Development
"An extraordinarily comprehensive and informative book" Tamar Szabo Gendler, Mind, Vol. 3, Apr. 2002
"This is a highly interesting, nontechnical, easy to read book on children's imagination and related topics by one of Great Britain's most distinguished developmental psychologist." John H. Flavell. Department of Psychology, Stanford University.
"In a series of ingenious experiments, Paul Harris leads the reader to discoveries and conclusions which are quite extraordinary. The book [has] value and originality." Eugene Subbostsky, Lancaster University
"It is a great topic; some of the ideas and materials are very novel and should create a lot of interest. For example, the chapter and ideas on emotion and pretence, and the discussion of functional issues. The chapters are very smoothly and readably written - fascinating>" Judy Dunn, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London.
"The chapters read very smoothly and well. The writing is clear, there is lots of interesting experimental material and theoretical ideas, always well presented." Peter Carruthers, University of Sheffield.
About the Author
Paul L. Harris is Professor of Developmental Psychology, Oxford University, and Fellow in Psychology, St. John's College, Oxford. He is the author of Children and Emotion, and co-editor of Developing Theories of Mind, Children's Understanding of Emotion, and Imagining the Impossible: Mgical, Scientific and Religious Thinking in Children.
