For most of us, having a baby is the most profound, intense, and fascinating experience of our lives. Now scientists and philosophers are starting to appreciate babies, too. The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of infants and young children. Scientists used to believe that babies were irrational, and that their thinking and experience were limited. Recently, they have discovered that babies learn more, create more, care more, and experience more than we could ever have imagined. And there is good reason to believe that babies are actually smarter, more thoughtful, and even more conscious than adults. This new science holds answers to some of the deepest and oldest questions about what it means to be human. A new baby's captivated gaze at her mother's face lays the foundations for love and morality. A toddler's unstoppable explorations of his playpen hold the key to scientific discovery. A three-year-old's wild make-believe explains how we can imagine the future, write novels, and invent new technologies. Alison Gopnik - a leading psychologist and philosopher, as well as a mother - explains the groundbreaking new psychological, neuroscientific, and philosophical developments in our understanding of very young children, transforming our understanding of how babies see the world, and in turn promoting a deeper appreciation for the role of parents. Alison Gopnik, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, is the author of "The Scientist in the Crib." For most of us, having a baby is the most profound, intense, and fascinating experience of our lives. Now scientists and philosophers are starting to appreciate babies, too. The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of infants and young children. Scientists used to believe that babies were irrational, and that their thinking and experience were limited. Recently, they have discovered that babies learn more, create more, care more, and experience more than we could ever have imagined. And there is good reason to believe that babies are actually smarter, more thoughtful, and even more conscious than adults. This new science holds answers to some of the deepest and oldest questions about what it means to be human. A new baby's captivated gaze at her mother's face lays the foundations for love and morality. A toddler's unstoppable explorations of his playpen hold the key to scientific discovery. A three-year-old's wild make-believe explains how we can imagine the future, write novels, and invent new technologies. Alison Gopnik--a leading psychologist and philosopher, as well as a mother--explains the groundbreaking new psychological, neuroscientific, and philosophical developments in our understanding of very young children, transforming our understanding of how babies see the world, and in turn promoting a deeper appreciation for the role of parents. " Gopnik's] account of what the science of recent decades has had to say about infants' minds tells a fascinating story of how we become the grown-ups that we are." --"The New York Times "

兒童學習和發展研究的領導者，首位從兒童意識的角度深刻剖析哲學問題的心理學傢。

牛津大學心理學博士，加州大學伯剋利分校心理學係教授及哲學係客座教授，曾榮獲加州理工學院摩爾傑齣學者奬學金。

心理理論創始人之一，第一位受邀在美國心理學會開設講座的兒童心理學傢。曾在美國科學促進會、美國心理協會、美國哲學學會及諸多兒童福利機構發錶兒童心理理論的演講。

代錶作《搖籃裏的科學傢》（The Scientist in the Crib）以及《寶寶也是哲學傢》廣受好評，其中《寶寶也是哲學傢》被迪士尼旗下BABBLE網站譽為“50本最佳育兒書籍”之一，她的文章和評論散見於《紐約時報》、《衛報》、《科學人》等各大媒體。