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Seeing the world through a third eye: Developmental systems theory looks beyond the nativist-empiricist debate
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Seeing the world through a third eye: Developmental systems theory looks beyond the nativist-empiricist debate

John P Spencer, Larissa K Samuelson, Mark S Blumberg, Bob McMurray, Scott R Robinson and J Bruce Tomblin
Child development perspectives, Vol.3(2), pp.103-105
08/01/2009
DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2009.00087.x
PMCID: PMC2750896
PMID: 19784382
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2009.00087.xView
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

In response to the commentaries on our paper (Spencer et al., 2009) we summarize what a developmental systems perspective offers for a twenty-first century science of development by highlighting five insights from developmental systems theory. Where applicable, the discussion is grounded in a particular example-the emergence of ocular dominance columns in early development. Ocular dominance columns are a paragon of epigenesis and are inconsistent with the nativist view. We conclude with optimism that developmental science can move beyond the nativist-empiricist debate armed with both modern technological tools and strong theory to guide their use.

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