Jean Piaget (1896-1980) is world-famous for his work in child psychology. His detailed studies of the development of thinking from infancy to adolescence, on which he based his theory of intelligence as interiorized action and his vision of the mind as a system of self-regulating structures responsive to the subject's interaction with the environment, have not only influenced academic psychologists but have led to radical changes in school curricula and classroom organization. Yet Piaget regarded himself as a biologist and philosopher (a 'genetic epistemologist') first and a developmental psychologist only second. In this clear critical account of Piaget's work, Margaret Boden discusses the biological and philosophical issues that influenced Piaget's psychology. She relates his theoretical identification of equilibration with cybernetic control to current work on artificial intelligence. And in this revised edition, she discusses recent evidence for epigenesis, new connectionist models of psychological development, dynamic systems theory and A-Life, and assesses the resilience of Piaget's standing as an intellectual force in psychology. While he may well have underestimated the abilities of infants, his depiction of mental development as ordered structural change still reigns unchallenged in the field, and his ideas remain the obligatory grounding for any student seeking to come to terms with the complex field of child psychology. "A marvelous starting-point, easily the best available, for anyone setting out to understand Piaget."PETER BRYANT, 'London Review of Books'. "Much the best introduction to Piaget"STEVEN ROSE, 'New Statesman'. "A lucid and succinct account… Clear, balanced and well-informed, an admirable introduction to Piaget and his critics."NEIL BOLTON, 'Times Higher Educational Supplement'. "A delight to read: not only an excellent account of Piaget's work, but also it discusses with great insight his achievements, and the criticisms that have been made of them… Worth-wile reading for philosophers and psychologists alike, as well as for the mythological intelligent layman."HANS EYSENCK, 'Spectator'.