Q&A: Causality in Children
Causality in Children
Question
Good evening!
As is well known, and as David Hume taught us, the principle of causality is not the product of empirical observation, but rather an a priori principle at the foundation of our thinking. So I would like to ask: why is a person not born with this principle already active within him, but instead needs empirical learning (as Piaget showed) in order to develop and learn it?
Thank you very much!
Answer
There are quite a few things that are a priori, and yet we still need learning in order to understand them—for example, geometry and mathematics. But that learning is not empirical, neither in mathematics nor with regard to causality. I don’t know what Piaget wrote on this matter, but if that is what he wrote, then in my opinion he is mistaken.