Imagining the Impossible: Magical, Scientific, and Religious Thinking in ChildrenKarl S. Rosengren, Carl N. Johnson, Paul L. Harris This volume, first published in 2000, is about the development of human thinking that stretches beyond the ordinary boundaries of reality. Various research initiatives emerged in the decade prior to publication exploring such matters as children's thinking about imaginary beings, magic and the supernatural. The purpose of this book is to capture something of the larger spirit of these efforts. In many ways, this new work offers a counterpoint to research on the development of children's domain-specific knowledge about the ordinary nature of things that has suggested that children become increasingly scientific and rational over the course of development. In acquiring an intuitive understanding of the physical, biological or psychological domains, even young children recognize that there are constraints on what can happen. However, once such constraints are acknowledged, children are in a position to think about the violation of those very same constraints - to contemplate the impossible. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
activity adults anomalous data argued Aristotle asked assumptions behavior Cambridge causal chil Child Development children's beliefs Chinn Christian claimed cognitive development contagion context counterintuitive creation creation science creationist creationist beliefs cultural Developmental Psychology domains entities epistemological everyday evidence evolutionist example existence experience fantasy fundamentalist fundamentalist Christian Gelman Hickling human ideas imaginary companions imagination individual intuitive involved knowledge Kurt's magical beliefs magical explanations magical thinking Mennonite mental metaphysical Miller narrative natural theology nature Nemeroff objects older children ontology origins origins of species paranormal parents participants particular personal storytelling perspective Peter Rabbit phenomenalistic causal phenomenalistic perception physical Piaget prayer preschool principles processes questions rational reality religion religious concepts representations role Rosengren Rozin scientific scientists Shweder social specific stories Subbotsky supernatural sympathetic magic theology theory of mind things thought tion tradition Turiel University Press Wellman wishing Woolley York young children