ABSTRACT
In his recent major theoretical work Piaget has emphasised that the main aim of a theory of development is to account for how structures appear and evolve (Piaget, 1970b, 1970c, 1971a, 1972a, 1978). Throughout these texts he presents a continuous and sustained attack on the limitations of empiricism and rationalism as accounts of the origins of structures. Structures are not the products of 'mere' experience, nor are they preformed. 'The problem we must solve, in order to explain cognitive development, is that of invention and not mere copying' (Piaget, 1970b, p. 714, his emphasis).
