the philosophical baby

I heard an interview with author Alison Gopnik on NPR discussing "The Philosphical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love and the Meaning of Life" and put it on my list. As a new mother, of course I am fascinated by the topic of how babies learn and what they are thinking.

She goes through various experiments to demonstrate that babies are moral, aware, and intelligent from the very beginning of life and then she takes another step to discuss the philosphical implications.

Yes - kids grow up so fast, but giving your kid a happy childhood is a valuable good that is worthwhile and long-lasting. Kids are learning a theory of love from their parents that will be with them always. Freud was wrong, it's not that kids want to have sex with their parents - it's that adults want mothering from the people they sleep with because that's how we first learn about caring. I love all these insights.

I was brought to tears by this:

"Imagine a novel in which a woman took in a stranger who was unable to walk or talk or even eat by himself. She fell completely in love with him at first sight, fed and clothed and washed him, gradually helped him become competent and independent, spent more than half her income on him, nursed him through sickness, and thought about him more than about anything else. After twenty years of this she helped him find a young wife and move far away. You couldn't bear the sappiness of it. But that, quite simply, is just about every mother's story."

Raising a child means being in touch with an overwhelming love, she argues, that is essential to our human nature.

I loved this book! It was fascinating. sweeping from psychological experiments to philosophers like Kant. At the same time, it affirmed the transcendence of parenting in a vivid and beautiful way.

I also read "Born Round" by Frank Bruni, about his tortured relationship with food that culminated in being the restaurant critic for The NY Times. I most enjoyed the description of life on the campaign as he was also the reporter for Bush's 2000 presidential run and the hardships of being the famed restaurant critic. I'm not too interested in weight gain/loss tales - perhaps because I relate too well!

I read "Between the Covers" by Ellen Heltzer and Margo Hammond and loved it! This is the book I was hoping "Bibiotherapy" would be and wasn't. Smart and relevant discussions and lists of recent books categorized by time periods in a woman's life. They listed many books I've already read so I figured we shared a similar taste. I'm looking forward to expanding my habits with new titles.

We enjoyed some fun picture books by Chris Van Dusen: "If I Built a Car," "The Circus Ship" and "A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee". The artwork gleams and pops with frenetic energy in every scene and the rhymes bounce the story along.

I skimmed "Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera" by Ron Schick - mostly I looked at the pictures. It shows how his kitschy/classic drawings were based upon detailed photos he took beforehand.

I've also reread some books this week - the graphic novel "Fun Home" and the delightful "The Gastronomy of Marriage".