Piaget's Conception of Evolution: Beyond Darwin and Lamarck

by John G. Messerly

The first full-length study of Jean Piaget as a philosopher and evolutionist. Messerly traces Piaget's earliest conjectures about knowledge through its further developments to its mature formulation as 'genetic epistemology.' Messerly analyzes Piaget's constructivist theory of the evolution of human knowledge as continuous with, yet partially transcending, the biological process of adaptation to the environment. Messerly's study serves as an invitation to further explorations with Paiget's theory and will interest philosophers, biologists, and psychologists.

184 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

John G. Messerly holds a PhD in philosophy and has taught at a number of institutions including St. Louis University and the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of: The Meaning of Life: Religious, Philosophical, Transhumanist; Piaget's Conception of Evolution: Beyond Darwin and Lamarck; An Introduction to Ethical Theories;and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book reviews, etc.