Descartes' Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human Book

Why is a forgery worth so much less than an original work of art? What's so funny about someone slipping on a banana peel? When do children start to believe in the afterlife? Why, as Freud once asked, is a man willing to kiss a woman passionately, but not use her toothbrush? And how many times should you baptize a two-headed twin? Descartes' Baby answers the questions you may have never thought to ask about such uniquely human traits as art, humor, faith, disgust, and morality. In this fascinating account of human nature, psychologist Paul Bloom contends that people are natural-born dualists. Even babies have a rich understanding of both the physical and social worlds-of bodies and souls-and they come to see them as distinct. They expect objects to obey principles of physics, and they're startled when things disappear or defy gravity. They can read the emotions of adults and respond with their own feelings of anger, sympathy and joy. Adults too experience this dualist perspective: We see another person as both "a machine made of meat" and as a feeling being with dreams and desires. Using his own studies in developmental psychology and recent research in philosophy, evolutionary biology, art, theology, and neuroscience, Bloom shows how this way to making sense of reality can explain what makes us human. The myriad ways that our dualist perspective, born in infancy, undergoes development throughout our lives and profoundly influence out thoughts, feelings, and actions is the subject of this richly rewarding book.Read More