The Foundations of Mind

"Mandler's book offers a powerful new synthesis on the emergence of cognitive capacities in infancy and early childhood. It is a compelling and important treatment of the origins of higher level thought from a cognitive science perspective. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in cognition or cognitive development." -Frank C. Keil, Professor of Psychology and Linguistics, Yale University "The perceptual/conceptual debate about the origins of meaning in the human mind continues to rage in the cognitive sciences, a debate that Mandler confronts head on. A masterful overthrow of a number of entrenched Piagetian assumptions, this eloquently written book about the conceptual capacities of young infants and the roots of language and consciousness is backed by extensive, innovative experimental data." -Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Professor of Neurocognitive Development and Head of Neurocognitive Development Unit, Institute of Child Health, London