A Conversation on Children’s Imagination and Cognition
Speaker
Dr. Paul Harris, Harvard University
Speaker Bio
Dr. Paul Harris is interested in the early development of cognition, emotion, and imagination. His most recent book, Trusting What You’re Told: How Children Learn from Others, was published by Harvard University Press in May 2012. This book discusses how far children rely on their own firsthand observation or alternatively trust what other people tell them — especially when they confront a domain of knowledge in which firsthand observation is difficult. For example, many aspects of history, science, and religion concern events that children cannot easily observe for themselves. How far do children believe what they are told about these domains? When and how do they become aware of the conflicting claims made by science as compared with religion?