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Structuralism
On structuralism, positivism, Sartre, Levi-Strauss, Godelier, Marxism, negation, et al.
153 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
12 people are currently reading
678 people want to read
About the author
Jean Piaget
264 books681 followersJean Piaget (1896 - 1980) was a Swiss philosopher, natural scientist and developmental theorist, well known for his work studying children, his theory of cognitive development, and his epistemological view called "genetic epistemology." In 1955, he created the International Centre for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva and directed it until his death in 1980. According to Ernst von Glasersfeld, Jean Piaget was "the great pioneer of the constructivist theory of knowing."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 16, 2010
Jean Piaget's structuralist approach is defined by three components: Structures are wholes and wholes are something greater than parts (structures are not aggregates); they are characterized by transformation (they are not static); and, they are self-regulatory. Piaget then applies this view of structuralism to logical/ mathematical, biological, psychological, linguistic, social, and philosophical thought. Piaget's arguments here are more technical and hard to follow.
Piaget's discussion of biological structures is clearer than the others. In contrast to views of structures as atomistic, irreducible units, Piaget sees structures as self-contained bodies that interact with a larger world (internal to the body, or external to the outside world) and, thereby, become parts of and function as a greater whole. It is this exchange with a broader environment that results in the transformation of the whole (and its parts). A structure brings something inside itself and is transformed as a result. And finally, such exchanges are regulated so that while transformation occurs, the integrity (identity) of the whole remains. In this way, structures operate dialectically and move from simple to complex, with each structure becoming part of a hierarchical series (parts are parts of wholes that in turn become parts of greater wholes), and each structure builds upon but extends what has occurred before. In this way, the human body is formed, and the mind is able to move from the instinctual to concrete structures, and from these to logical and mathematical structures that sit at the apex of abstract thought.
A couple of other interesting points can be highlighted about Piaget's structuralism. Hegel's dialectic philosophy is, to the extent one can understand Hegel, strikingly similar to Piaget's description (Piaget alludes to this, but doesn't develop this thought). In biology, Piaget makes an almost incidental comment that the primary vehicle for evolutionary variation is not mutation and natural selection, but rather the recombination of individual genetic structures as they interact (via reproduction) with the larger genetic pool that natural selection then acts upon.
Piaget is a difficult writer, but this small book provides a fairly quick and easy introduction to a key feature of his scientific approach. Understandably, Piaget is silent about the essential property of life, which is "in charge" of and regulates the whole, and which keeps identity and preserves the whole amidst transformation. We understand that structures are constituted by organization, but the "organizer" is missing.
Piaget's discussion of biological structures is clearer than the others. In contrast to views of structures as atomistic, irreducible units, Piaget sees structures as self-contained bodies that interact with a larger world (internal to the body, or external to the outside world) and, thereby, become parts of and function as a greater whole. It is this exchange with a broader environment that results in the transformation of the whole (and its parts). A structure brings something inside itself and is transformed as a result. And finally, such exchanges are regulated so that while transformation occurs, the integrity (identity) of the whole remains. In this way, structures operate dialectically and move from simple to complex, with each structure becoming part of a hierarchical series (parts are parts of wholes that in turn become parts of greater wholes), and each structure builds upon but extends what has occurred before. In this way, the human body is formed, and the mind is able to move from the instinctual to concrete structures, and from these to logical and mathematical structures that sit at the apex of abstract thought.
A couple of other interesting points can be highlighted about Piaget's structuralism. Hegel's dialectic philosophy is, to the extent one can understand Hegel, strikingly similar to Piaget's description (Piaget alludes to this, but doesn't develop this thought). In biology, Piaget makes an almost incidental comment that the primary vehicle for evolutionary variation is not mutation and natural selection, but rather the recombination of individual genetic structures as they interact (via reproduction) with the larger genetic pool that natural selection then acts upon.
Piaget is a difficult writer, but this small book provides a fairly quick and easy introduction to a key feature of his scientific approach. Understandably, Piaget is silent about the essential property of life, which is "in charge" of and regulates the whole, and which keeps identity and preserves the whole amidst transformation. We understand that structures are constituted by organization, but the "organizer" is missing.
August 12, 2020
This is a very sweet little introduction to structuralism. Piaget begins with a single chapter laying out what he considers to be structuralism's three methodological pillars - (1) Wholeness (structuralism deals with wholes and the relations therein, and not aggregates), (2) Transformations (what structure governs is, precisely, transformations within a system), and (3) Self-Regulation (structures maintain and regulate themselves 'from within'). He then spends the rest of the book going over how these three principles play themselves out in various disciplines, chapter by chapter - math, physics, biology, psychology, linguistics, anthropology and philosophy. It's about as straightforward as one can ask for.
Piaget spends a lot of time emphasizing that structures all have a genesis (and are not merely static forms), as well as staking out structuralism as a method, variously applicable, rather than say, a philosophy. He quibbles a bit with some of his contemporaries - Chomsky is poked at throughout, Foucault is charged with taking all the bad bits of structuralism and none of the good, and Levi-Strauss gets a sympathetic and constructive critique - but for the most part this is an 'issue-oriented' rather than personality centered book. Admittedly I read this because of Anthony Wilden's effort at thoroughly demolishing this book piece by piece and brick by brick in his magisterial System and Structure and I'm glad I did. To close with Wilden's words:
"Piaget's book is a brilliant and illuminating example of what the Masonic versions of 'structuralism' are not about. It exemplifies a lucid commitment to a carefully elaborated point of view, analytical rigor, and above all, intellectual honesty. There is no trace of the academic racketeering which characterizes many so-called 'structuralists'. Like Levi-Strauss, Piaget has a position, and he wants everybody to understand what it is. His is the kind of exposition which is so clear and rigorous a statement of a position, that it enables the reader to understand better his own objections to it. It is this very clarity which enables the reader to organize and comprehend those of his reservations about the theory which had previously been incoherent or unrecognized".
Piaget spends a lot of time emphasizing that structures all have a genesis (and are not merely static forms), as well as staking out structuralism as a method, variously applicable, rather than say, a philosophy. He quibbles a bit with some of his contemporaries - Chomsky is poked at throughout, Foucault is charged with taking all the bad bits of structuralism and none of the good, and Levi-Strauss gets a sympathetic and constructive critique - but for the most part this is an 'issue-oriented' rather than personality centered book. Admittedly I read this because of Anthony Wilden's effort at thoroughly demolishing this book piece by piece and brick by brick in his magisterial System and Structure and I'm glad I did. To close with Wilden's words:
"Piaget's book is a brilliant and illuminating example of what the Masonic versions of 'structuralism' are not about. It exemplifies a lucid commitment to a carefully elaborated point of view, analytical rigor, and above all, intellectual honesty. There is no trace of the academic racketeering which characterizes many so-called 'structuralists'. Like Levi-Strauss, Piaget has a position, and he wants everybody to understand what it is. His is the kind of exposition which is so clear and rigorous a statement of a position, that it enables the reader to understand better his own objections to it. It is this very clarity which enables the reader to organize and comprehend those of his reservations about the theory which had previously been incoherent or unrecognized".
December 28, 2012
A very short book, really an extended essay, but it's going on the abandoned pile nonetheless. Piaget's structuralism is a homeostatic, largely platonic model of forms. His material is covered better in Hailes' history of cybernetic theory, How We Became Posthuman, which is actually an engaging and useful book.
Piaget's writing in 1967, probably at the high water mark of formalist, totalizing cybernetic thought, not long before his hero Levy-Strauss would be toppled from his pedestal. As a concise (if turgid) analytic summary of a dead-end field, it may be of use to somebody - but not me.
Piaget's writing in 1967, probably at the high water mark of formalist, totalizing cybernetic thought, not long before his hero Levy-Strauss would be toppled from his pedestal. As a concise (if turgid) analytic summary of a dead-end field, it may be of use to somebody - but not me.
September 30, 2024
Un concepte interessant però tant general que costa d'agafar. No he arribat a captar la necessitat d'aquest llibre, ni la finalitat d'un anàlisi general de l'estructuralisme. Sento que no m'ha aportat gairebé res.
April 3, 2016
Structure as transformations - I think is the essence of the book. By emphasizing "transformation", he wove back together the concepts of structure and dynamics which necessarily leads to construction. He emphasized structuralism as a method not a theory. This book definitely brings great insights and self-reflections on one's scientific inquiries. I resonates a lot with the essence. However, having a great theme is not everything needed for a book to be helpful. Structuralism is to be seen as a method, but there is not a methodological path laid out in front of the readers. That makes Structuralism more of a perspective. Or maybe this translation is not particularly clear. Sad that I don't know French.
May 6, 2011
This was a very straightforward overview of structuralist approaches to a wide range of spheres of inquiry. Piaget comes off as a bit arrogant with regard to his unique constructivist perspective versus everyone else, especially Chomsky, with whom he seems to have a serious issue on almost everything discussed in the book.
June 23, 2017
Je ne suis pas étranger au style dense et hautement technique des Que sais-je. Mais dans ce volume, c'était plus que moi. À part d'une partie introductive d'une vingtaine de pages qui parle du structuralisme d'une manière générale - donc intelligible pour le profane que je suis, le livre se déploie ensuite en une suite de chapitres, chacun dédié à une discipline pour y exposer "son" ou "ses" structuralismes propres. Allez comprendre le jargon des biologistes ou physicistes ou psychanalistes ou mathématiciens.
November 29, 2022
Jean Piaget, uno de los más representativos autores del cognitivismo, ofrece en este breve ensayo sus reflexiones y vigencias en el porvenir de la metodología estructuralista.
Hay que distinguir el estructuralismo entre la primera escuela psicológica, a mediados del siglo XIX, y el estructuralismo como una corriente filosófica y abarcante a los diferentes campos de la realidad (el lenguaje, la biología, la matemática, la lógica, la psicología y la física). La tesis de Piaget examina cada uno de estos aspectos para identificar las problemáticas variadas y que son tema de debate en el apartado social.
Partamos del concepto donde cada rama existente y racional del ser humano tiene su propia estructura, pero que no por ello significa que son organismos inmutables por el accionar externo. Justamente, lo que mencionan los estructuralistas como Foucault, Derrida, Bloch, Lacan, Goldman y Piaget, entabla la visión de una realidad conexa y mutable, pero sólida en elementos que integran sistemas complejos, de los cuales nos basamos para establecer la concepción de fenómenos.
En este caso, también se puede deducir que las diferentes materias, a pesar de cimentarse en diferentes conocimientos y principios, pueden ser explicados o están relacionadas con las demás materias (como es emplear la lógica formal, el álgebra, la física, etc., en campos como la psicología, el lenguaje, sociología o la biología).
Hay que distinguir el estructuralismo entre la primera escuela psicológica, a mediados del siglo XIX, y el estructuralismo como una corriente filosófica y abarcante a los diferentes campos de la realidad (el lenguaje, la biología, la matemática, la lógica, la psicología y la física). La tesis de Piaget examina cada uno de estos aspectos para identificar las problemáticas variadas y que son tema de debate en el apartado social.
Partamos del concepto donde cada rama existente y racional del ser humano tiene su propia estructura, pero que no por ello significa que son organismos inmutables por el accionar externo. Justamente, lo que mencionan los estructuralistas como Foucault, Derrida, Bloch, Lacan, Goldman y Piaget, entabla la visión de una realidad conexa y mutable, pero sólida en elementos que integran sistemas complejos, de los cuales nos basamos para establecer la concepción de fenómenos.
En este caso, también se puede deducir que las diferentes materias, a pesar de cimentarse en diferentes conocimientos y principios, pueden ser explicados o están relacionadas con las demás materias (como es emplear la lógica formal, el álgebra, la física, etc., en campos como la psicología, el lenguaje, sociología o la biología).
November 9, 2024
Picked this book up from a thrift shop, not knowing who the writer is. At first I thought he was a scholar who would give an overarching view of structuralism, and I committed to reading the first few pages meticulously. It soon became apparent that the book is full of fluff, reciting some key figures and theories from some disciplines and then trying to relate them back to the few postulated tenets of structuralism, while injecting here and there propositions about child developmental psychology. It turns out that Piaget was a psychologist specialising in child development known for his stage theory, which has been proved outdated.
For someone with basic knowledge of linear algebra, natural sciences, Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, this book is utter rubbish.
For someone with basic knowledge of linear algebra, natural sciences, Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, this book is utter rubbish.
May 6, 2020
For me this is a seminal book. Piaget shows the connection through various disciplines with the concept of 'structuralism', criticising heavy handed use of the term by those such as Lévy-Strauss. It was readable for me when I was a novice and a student, I'm thinking about dipping into it again to bring back lovely memories of things that popped up in front of my eyes the first time; passage ways between subjects that I never really new existed. I love this book it should be on everyone's bookshelf, along with my own of course.
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August 1, 2025آش شلهقلمکار
یک سومش رو خوندم بعد پذیرفتم هیچ دردی از من دوا نمیکند. کنار گذاشتم. یکچنین مفهوم گسترده پیچیدهای رو در کمتر از دویست صفحه با گزیدهگوییهای نامفهوم -مصداق از هر چمنی، گلی- نمیشه باز کرد.
یک سومش رو خوندم بعد پذیرفتم هیچ دردی از من دوا نمیکند. کنار گذاشتم. یکچنین مفهوم گسترده پیچیدهای رو در کمتر از دویست صفحه با گزیدهگوییهای نامفهوم -مصداق از هر چمنی، گلی- نمیشه باز کرد.
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November 22, 2019i want to read to get more knowledge about structuralism.
November 10, 2023
Leuke denkoefening.
November 2, 2025
God so dry man.
Good to read the original text (well, original translated) but boy is it dry. I read it so quickly because of that. Fell asleep on multiple planes with it.
BUT
I’m now reading social constructionism by Vivian Burr and that makes reading this worth it. As a text on its own no thanks. But as foundational reading for modern texts, yeah I can see this is how reading lists for universities are made.
My copy was also super old, faded, coloured, and used. And I do love that.
Good to read the original text (well, original translated) but boy is it dry. I read it so quickly because of that. Fell asleep on multiple planes with it.
BUT
I’m now reading social constructionism by Vivian Burr and that makes reading this worth it. As a text on its own no thanks. But as foundational reading for modern texts, yeah I can see this is how reading lists for universities are made.
My copy was also super old, faded, coloured, and used. And I do love that.
July 16, 2015
Skrátka a dobre, s Piagetom sme sa nenašli, nerozumeli si, rozchádzame sa.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews