Psychological Essentialism in Young Children: An Aristotelian-Thomistic Perspective

James M. Stedman

University of Texas Health Science Center Thomas L. Spalding, Christina L Gagné University of Alberta

Abstract

Piaget proposed that children are not capable of forming more complex concepts until approximately age six or seven. However, extensive research since the 1970s has demonstrated that children develop conceptual capacity much earlier. One influential branch of this theory and research is psychological essentialism, developed by Susan Gelman and others. This essay proposes that there is a strong association between psychological essentialism and the philosophical position of classical realism, as formulated by Aristotle and Aquinas.

psychological essentialism, Aristotle, concept development