Human development as transcendence of the animal body and the child-animalassociation in psychological thought

This paper explores the association of children and animals as an element i n Western culture's symbolic universe. Three historical discourses found in the West associate animality with immaturity and growing up with the trans cendence of this condition. The discourses differ in how they describe and evaluate the original animal-like condition of the child versus the sociali zed end product. All, however, tend to distinguish sharply between the huma n and the nonhuman. This paper explores expressions of this tendency in dev elopmental theories that set as the criterion of maturity the actualization of some capacity that is believed to set humans apart from animals. Seeing relationships with animals as marginally important in human development an d life is a consequence of these assumptions. Simultaneously: these assumpt ions also marginalize the body. This constitutes a dual renunciation of bod y and animal, criticized for its effects both on inquiry and on our realiza tion of the roles and values of nonhuman animals in development. Such resea rch can help reveal the self-organizing nature of the human animal body.