The Cradle of Thought : Exploring the Origins of Thinking - Softcover

Peter Hobson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330488287 ISBN 13: 9780330488280

Publisher: Pan Macmillan, 2004

Synopsis

In "Cradle of Thought Peter Hobson", a Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Tavistock Clinic and the University of London, examines how thought develops in infants, focussing on the subsequent differences in the quality of thinking between individuals and what this suggests about the place of thought in the history of evolution. At the book's heart is a radical new theory which tackles head-on the ideas of people like Stephen Pinker. Hobson firmly refutes the notion that thinking is turned on by biologically pre-determined 'modules' in the brain, arguing instead that it arises from the nature and quality of the relationship between parent and child in the first eighteen months of life.Drawing on twenty years of clinical experience, on case histories and experimental and clinical research, this will be a controversial book not only in scientific circles, but also in its contribution to the wider parenting, IQ and nature/nurture debates. Accessible, authoritative and extremely readable, "Cradle of Thought" is a major work of popular science. 'Any parent reading his account will recognise that it makes sense' - "Sunday Times".

About this title

About the Author

As well as being Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Tavistock Clinic and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at UCL, Peter Hobson works as a psychotherapist with adults and is the Director of the Unit for the Study of Lifespan Development. This is his first trade book.

Review

"Packed with appealing anecdotes about the loveable things kids do and say. . .along with more disturbing pictures, drawn from Hobson's work with autistic children, of how badly things can go wrong. . .The notion that our minds develop through other people seems, intuitively, to be along the right lines." --Robert Hanks,The Daily Telegraph

"There is much to admire in this immensely readable book, and Hobson is both an outstanding scholar and passionate about his subject. His human and clinical concern for people comes through clearly in his writing, and his book will be a welcome contribution to the debate in cognitive development." --Simon Baron-Cohen, Nature

"How does a child develop the capacity to think? In particular, how does it develop a sense of self, of the existence of other persons with minds of their own, and of its relationship to these others? . . .For Hobson, the key lies in that one word, relationship. . .Any parent reading his account will recognise it makes sense." --Steven Rose, Sunday Times (London)

Edition details

• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0330488287
• ISBN 13: 9780330488280
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320