Jean Piaget Quick Facts

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a 20th century Swiss biologist, philosopher, psychologist, and educator.

Profile

• Birth Name: Jean William Piaget
• AKA: Jean William Fritz Piaget
• Date of Birth: August 9, 1896
• Place of Birth: Neuchatel, Neuchâtel, Canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
• Date of Death: September 16, 1980
• Place of Death: Geneva, Switzerland
• Cause of Death: Unknown
• Interred at: Cimetière des Rois (Cemetery of Kings)
• Zodiac Sign: Leo
• Nationality: Swiss
• Father: Arthur Piaget
• Mother: Rebecca Jackson
• Siblings: Madeleine Vautheir
• Spouse: Valentine Piaget née Châtenay
• Children:

1. Daughter-Jacqueline Piaget
2. Daughter - Lucienne Piaget
3. Son- Laurent Piaget

• Alma Mater: University of Neuchâtel (1918), University of Zurich, University of Geneva
• Jean Piaget is known for: Constructivism, Genevan School, genetic epistemology, theory of cognitive development, object permanence, and egocentrism.
• Jean Piaget is criticized for: not considering sociocultural or geographical differences among children.
• Jean Piaget was influenced by: Immanuel Kant, Henri Bergson, Pierre Janet, Alfred Binet, Théodore Simon, Sabina Spielrein, and James Mark Baldwin.
• Jean Piaget influenced: Rabbi ShlomoWolbe, BärbelInhelder, Jerome Bruner, Kenneth Kaye, Lawrence Kohlberg, Robert Kegan, Howard Gardner, Thomas Kuhn, Seymour Papert, Lev Vygotsky, Jordan Peterson, and John Flavell.

Quotes

“I know some very intelligent philosophers, not at all dogmatic, who believe that “science” cannot introduce the concept of finality in the analysis and explanation of vital processes, but that “philosophy” equally cannot arrive at an adequate concept of organic life without introducing finality. It is not a question here of moral or other values, but rather of a concept peculiar to philosophical biology as opposed to biology. Indeed, one such philosopher concluded, drawing inspiration from Merleau-Ponty, that science can “never” give an adequate explanation of the concept of the “whole structure” of the organism.” ― Jean Piaget, Insights and Illusions of Philosophy

Major Works

• The Language and Thought of the Child (1923)
• The Child's Conception of the World (1926)
• Child's Conception of Physical Causality (1927)
• Judgment and Reasoning in the Child (1928)
• The Moral Judgment of the Child (1932)
• The Origins of Intelligence in Children (1936)
• The construction of Reality in the Child (1937)
• The Child's Conception of Number (1941)
• Play, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood (1945)
• The psychology of intelligence (1947)
• Logic and Psychology (1953)
• The Child's Conception of Space (1956)
• Six psychological Studies (1964)
• Insights and Illusions of Philosophy (1965)
• Sociological Studies (1965)
• The Psychology of the Child (1966)
• Mental imagery in the child: a Study of the Development of Imaginal Representation (1966)
• Biology and Knowledge: An Essay on the Relations Between Organic Regulations and Cognitive Processes (1967)
• Memory and intelligence (1968)
• Science of Education and the Psychology of the Child (1969)
• The Child's Conception of Time (1969)
• Genetic Epistemology (1970)
• Psychology and Epistemology: Towards a Theory of Knowledge (1971)
• OuVaL'education (1972)
• Equilibration of Cognitive Structures: The Central Problem of Intellectual Development (1975)
• The Essential Piaget (1977)
• The Child and Reality: Problems of Genetic Psychology (1973)
• To understand is to invent: The Future of Education (1973)
• Success and Understanding (1974)
• Understanding Causality (1974)
• The Origin of the Idea of Chance in Children (1975)
• Behaviour and Evolution (1976)
• Language and Learning: The Debate Between Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky (1979)
• Adaptation and Intelligence: Organic Selection and Phenocopy (1980)
• Psychogenesis and the History of Science (1982)

Did You Know?

• He was the eldest son born to Arthur Piaget and Rebecca Jackson.
• His father was a professor of medieval literature at the University of Neuchâtel.
• Much of Piaget's childhood was influenced by his father, who was profoundly dedicated to his studies and work.
• He made his first publication at the age of 10 and continued working until his death at the age of 84.
• At the University of Neuchâtel, he finished natural science studies in 1916 and earned a doctoral degree for research on mollusks in 1918.
• Piaget is famous for his learning theories based on different stages in the development of children's intelligence, which are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational.
• Piaget’s theories on child development are collectively called "genetic epistemology."
• Piaget created the International Center for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva in 1955 and directed it until his death in 1980.
• His work with children and focus on child development lead to many of the early education reform movements.
• From 1925 to 1929 Piaget was professor of psychology, sociology, and the philosophy of science at the University of Neuchâtel.
• Piaget made many impressive guest appearances at conferences concerning childhood development and learning.
• He authored more than 50 books and hundreds of papers.
• Piaget was the recipient of honorary degrees from Oxford and Harvard universities.
• He is the recipient of many the prestigious accolades, such as Erasmus (1972) and Balzan (1978) prizes.
• He died in Geneva and to be concurrent with his request he was buried with his family in an unmarked grave in the Cimetière des Rois.

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