Piaget and Levy-Bruhl.

The French philosopher Lucien Levy-Bruhl's concept of a "pre-logical mentality" characterized by "mystical participation" strongly influenced Jean Piaget's early work on children's thinking. Piaget first showed interest in 1920 and later compared children's thought to that of "primitives," adopting Levy-Bruhl's term "participation." By 1928 Piaget argued that both children and so-called primitives are subject to social constraint—children by parents and teachers, primitives by elders—and that logical thought emerges only through cooperation in free social interaction. Piaget maintained these views long after Levy-Bruhl himself abandoned the notion of pre-logicality.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Levy-Bruhl exerted a powerful influence, seldom considered, on Piaget. The Levy-Bruhlian thesis of a "pre-logical mentality" characterized by "mystical participation" is outlined, together with its initial reception. The first evidence of Piaget's interest in it dates from 1920, and when he began his studies of children's thinking he compared it with that of 'primitives," also adopting Levy-Bruhl's concept of "participation." By 1928 Piaget had elaborated a theory of the social foundations of different types of thought, which he regarded as also explaining the alleged similarity between the thinking of primitives and children. Both are subject to constraint, primitives by elders and children by parents and teachers. Logical as opposed to pre-logical thought was said to depend on cooperation in free social interaction. Piaget continued to maintain essentially the same views long after Levy-Bruhl himself had renounced the notion of pre-logicality.