What do I call it when I do it to my baby?bigbumbleDecember 8 2008, 04:25:04 UTC
Hence the intense discussions about when human life begins.
I know the sequence of infant behaviors is pretty well mapped out. Individual behaviors may come early or late, but the order is pretty well fixed. If you haven't already, I suggest you get a book on human or child development from your local teacher's college bookstore or check with a pediatrician for a recommendation.
My father one told me he had a great time comparing each of us to the behavior list in his old college text.
When I observe the behavior of my dogs and impute motives and narratives to them based on those observations, it's called 'anthropomorphizing' them. What do I call it when I do it to my baby? I fully know it's entirely my own storymaking instincts, patternmatching, and assumptions at work, not any objective reality of what SHE thinks, but as she's already an anthropos, strictly speaking, I don't think the word really fits.
I think the broader concept you're looking for is the "pathetic fallacy". ("pathetic"<-pathetikos, "capable of emotion", without the more recent pejorative connotation.) Though maybe not-- some sources limit that to inanimate objects.
Orgasm creates lots of squashing-da-baby. Baby goes "Hey, that's interesting!" but can't (comfortably) actually do anything about it till after she's no longer being squashed. You will find the exact same thing happens in between contractions during labor.
"Protoanthropoanthrosizing" comes to mind as a silly, fun thing to say, although I have no idea if it's an actual word!
Also, studies have shown that babies have a *strong* preference for music they heard in utero; they look toward the sound and suckle harder on pacifiers, indicating interest. "New" songs get a glance, and maybe one or two sucklings.
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I know the sequence of infant behaviors is pretty well mapped out. Individual behaviors may come early or late, but the order is pretty well fixed. If you haven't already, I suggest you get a book on human or child development from your local teacher's college bookstore or check with a pediatrician for a recommendation.
My father one told me he had a great time comparing each of us to the behavior list in his old college text.
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I think the broader concept you're looking for is the "pathetic fallacy". ("pathetic"<-pathetikos, "capable of emotion", without the more recent pejorative connotation.) Though maybe not-- some sources limit that to inanimate objects.
Reply
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Also, studies have shown that babies have a *strong* preference for music they heard in utero; they look toward the sound and suckle harder on pacifiers, indicating interest. "New" songs get a glance, and maybe one or two sucklings.
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