DESCARTES' BABY: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic book!
Review: Engaging and funny cognitive scientist Paul Bloom's second book is a fascinating read. In it, he argues that we are wired to view the world as containing both bodies and souls. Bloom argues convincingly that it is for this reason, that even when the idea of psychophysical dualism clashes with our intellectual understanding of bodies and souls, we still maintain vestiges of a belief in the immaterial soul. His discussions of a huge range of fascinating issues make this book a must-read.

Descartes' Baby is incredibly fun to read, and is smattered with bits of humor and amusing anecdotes about real children and adults. Indeed, one of the most humorous moments in this lively book is Bloom's account of a neuroscientist colleague's culinarily-motivated search for animals without a certain neural structure, because, he reasoned, animals without this certain structure surely didn't have consciousness and therefore we safe to eat.

Another strength of the book is Bloom's treatment of disgust. His view is both interesting and nuanced and falls naturally from his argument that we are intuitive dualists at heart. Other high points are his discussion of art and forgery, and his quite funny discussion of humor.

It's not often that I read nonfiction. Normally I find it either too pedantic or too technical and narrow in scope to appeal to an outsider. One of the tremendous strengths of this book is that someone without training in developmental psychology or philosophy can follow it with ease, while still finding it intellectually satisfying.

This book is truly a gem -- both entertaining and important. It's a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered about human nature.

Rating:
Summary: Embarrassing, disgusting, and immoral
Review: Paul Bloom explains how it is that humans come to feel embarrassment, disgust, or moral revulsion (among other things). He argues that these feeling can be traced to our earliest development, in which we learn about the properties of objects and other people. These parallel developments interact to result in special feelings towards certain objects such as great works of art or decaying meat. Although feelings of embarrassment and disgust may not be limited to humans, he argues that without even negative emotions and feelings, we would not be fully human.

The book is full of witty and fascinating anecdotes, as well as thought-provoking questions. The first chapters lay the groundwork by reviewing recent findings about the development of infants. The book steadily gains in interest as these findings form the groundwork for intriguing discussions of emotion, morality, and religion.

Although the author is apparently a professor at Yale, the book can be read by anyone who is interested in children or in how we end up the way we are. In fact, as I got further and further into it, I could not put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, Lively and Fun Read
Review: This is a Terrific book. It is written in a lively, accessible style, yet says some serious things about what it is to be human. The author's main point is that we have two very different ways of viewing and thinking about reality: in terms of the physical world of material bodies, and in terms of the social world of people. He suggests that these two viewpoints often collide in interesting and surprising ways, to unique effect, to explain such things about human nature as: Why slapstick humor is funny; why we consider some things (such as certain sex acts, for example) to be disgusting; the nature of human morality and why our 'moral circle' has expanded through history; the ubiquity of religious thought; and other things fundamental to being human. To support his explanations, he draws extensively on recent findings in developmental psychology, showing us that how children think and develop tells us a lot about human nature. This is a serious, intelligent book that makes some deep, genuinely creative new insights into the complex nature of human psychology.

If you're interested in human nature, child development, or cognitive science, you will find this book full of fascinating information and provocative ideas. Finally, it is just plain fun reading!