Babies, Brains, Nature and Nurture -- An Interview with Dr Stuart Shanker - Freedomain Radio

Dr. Stuart Shanker is a Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at York University and currently serving as Director of the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative (MEHRI), an initiative whose goal is to build on new knowledge of the brains development, and help set children (including those with developmental disorders) on the path towards emotional and intellectual health.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• brain
• development
• babies
• nature
• nurture
• parenting
• mental
• health
• psychology
• philosophy

[OscarBaldwin]

you have become much better at presentation since your old videos. I started at the beginning and just skipped to see this vid. Less rambling.

[stefbot]

Thanks, I appreciate your comment! :)

[erdal0]

excellent and very interesting

[TehGhoul]

That was possibly the most interesting video on youtube I have even seen.

[Jessicajules]

Dr. Shanker is amazing. I was lucky enough to take his Child Development class during my undergrad (BA Psych). Thanks for this interview, Stef. Really enjoyed it!

[americaninkorea]

This series is just incredible. 29:30 --> music and gymnastic, just what Plato tells us in the Republic for the cultivation of the young.

[BandWagon1987]

I went until 32:30. This question is nonsense, and moderately infuriating.



[justeddynolasco]

my god i never knew what i wanted to study at school but know i do rofl

[watchingcharlotte]

Great job on the video

[Neilgs]

@frostyuk2007 You are missing I am afraid a LARGER Perspective. All language/communication is dependent upon the external symbolic metaphor but the underlying non-verbal or affective quality of caregiver/child or child/teacher child/child reciprocal interactions/engagement. Without that you essentially have metaphor = raw data or referential communication/ signifiers without the possibilities of deeper reflection which in turn lends itself to more empathic forms of thinking-and-communicating.

[mussimike]

Fascinating interview Stefan, I can not imagine a more important subject for us to be engaged with. Thank you.

[LaLeLaLeLa]

@deepfriedsammich -Dr. Shankar definitely doesn't believe that, there's a whole theory that he supports based on mother-child interactions called Dyadic Interactions

in which the primary caregiver becomes an external brain for the baby. Clearly that is not what he meant if you take a closer look at all the details of the evolution of nurturing. I understand that might sound like a tangent but as a whole I'm pretty sure that is not what he believes.. he has lectured the contrary on many occasions

[frostyuk2007]

10.50 Dr Shanker talks about making predictions of how well a student will perform and that severe changes are rare. However in recent years it has also been discovered that this often depends on language. For example, if whenever your parents communicate with you they use phrases like, "Do you SEE what I mean" this teaches the child to communicate in visual predicates. However if the childs teacher speaks using auditory predicates communication between the two can be seriously hindered.