Wonder: Childhood and the Lifelong Love of Science

“Frank Keil is among the deepest thinkers about thought, and here he explores the wondrous urge that drives our lifelong quest to understand the world.”—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; author of Rationality“Frank Keil is one of the great psychologists of our time, and his beautiful, brilliant, and humane work tells the story of children’s fascination with the natural world, how it is brutally stifled in school, and how we can recover it as adults. Filled with moving stories and striking scientific findings, this book is essential reading for anyone who cares about children, science, or nature—and just the thing for any reader who wishes to re-experience the childhood joy of asking why. Wonder is wonderful.”—Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto; author of The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning “Wonder is an apt title for this wonderful, brilliant book. Written by one of the most creative and integrative minds in the cognitive sciences and rich with compelling examples, Wonder examines the human drive to explore, discover, and understand the world around us. When and why do we seek to understand how the world works, and what are the forces that foster or smother these impulses? For every parent who has patiently answered their child’s relentless ‘why’ questions, for every educator who seeks to engage their students’ curiosity about how the natural world works, for every person who wishes to know how the human species finds meaning, this book is a satisfying delight.”—Susan Gelman, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan “I think Frank Keil’s book Wonder is riveting. It is refreshingly optimistic and quite fascinating. It is full of unique insights and exciting examples from the history of science. I found it engaging and charming.”—Cristine H. Legare, Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin “Frank Keil is a leading expert on children’s cognitive development, and Wonder brings together various strands of his work into a comprehensive argument about the development and decline of scientific reasoning. Keil’s work has revolutionized the study of conceptual development, and I foresee this book as having a similar impact. Keil’s argument will be important for the field of developmental psychology, as well as society at large.”—Andrew Shtulman, Professor of Psychology, Occidental College; author of Scienceblind “Wonder: Childhood and the Lifelong Love of Science discusses why it is that young children show the curiosity and thirst for explanation often displayed by working scientists, whereas older school children appear disengaged and discontented. Frank Keil has been a long-standing contributor to the field of cognitive development, and this synthesis of his ideas will be very welcome. A great addition to the MIT Press catalog.” —Paul L. Harris, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education, Harvard University