Perhaps the explanation for this is a simple one, anchored in a basic developmental reality: early childhood is when we first gain control of our bodies and develop our motor skills. But in some ways, that’s the point. Toddlers and preschoolers acquire knowledge in ways that are inseparable from their physical experiences. This is the time when it’s easiest to see what we human beings may truly be—“inherently instrumental, or pragmatically oriented, all the way down,” as Crawford suggests. By spending time with young children—building forts and baking cakes, whacking baseballs and making sand
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