Abstract

Jean Piaget spent a lifetime studying how children learn. These studies provided a bridge between his two main interests: the nature of biological adaptation and the nature of human knowledge. His empirical observations uncovered a conception of evolution applicable to both cognitive and organic evolution, and his studies revealed that a similar conception of evolution applied to the history of science. In essence, he argued that evolution is a constructive process in which the self-organizing properties of organisms direct both their biological and cognitive evolution in the direction of increasing equilibrium. ;In this dissertation I trace the development of Piaget's conception of evolution from his early version of interactionism that was meant as a critique of both Lamarck and Darwin, to his later notion of "reflective abstraction" and eventually his mature conception of "constructive" evolution. I then apply Piaget's mature view of the evolutionary process to problems in philosophy of science, and conclude by offering my own assessment of his conception of evolution. ;In the conclusion I argue that Piaget's conclusions are well-founded. Though the details of his biological theorizing are suspect, the conclusions concerning evolution are not. The overwhelming empirical evidence supports Piaget's contention that individual cognitive structures evolve, and the parallels with the history of science are strong enough to extend the evolutionary analysis from one domain to the other. Piaget's observations give us reason to affirm the major conclusions of his life's work; evolution is a constructive, rational, and orderly process whereby mind adapts to reality