One of my seniors once asked me a very interesting question about the thinking capacity of a newborn baby. His question was this: “Since our thinking process is directly supported by the languages we speak, what do babies do at the early stage of their lives, when they do not know any language?”
This question struck me deeply. At that moment, I responded that we could approach it by studying human evolution, and I recommended the famous book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. However, when I later revisited the book, I realized that it does not directly answer this question. Over time, I have come to appreciate this question even more. In my view, the infant’s life is primarily spent perceiving and absorbing information relentlessly. Newborns already carry some memories from the womb, such as the ability to suck, recognition of the mother’s voice, and basic emotional expressions like crying or smiling. Some studies even suggest that babies begin to pick up elements of their parents’ language while still in the womb.
I read about it more, and I found the work of Margaret Mahler, a renowned psychiatrist. She developed the Separation–Individuation Theory of Child Development, which describes how infants gradually develop a sense of self through distinct phases:
- Normal autistic phase (first weeks of life)
- Infant detached, self-absorbed, mostly sleeping.
- Mahler later abandoned this phase, considering it non-existent.
- Normal symbiotic phase (up to 5 months)
- Infant aware of the mother but lacks individuality.
- Infant and mother are experienced as one, separated from the outside world.
- Separation–individuation phase (begins after the symbiotic phase)
- Separation: recognition of boundaries between self and mother.
- Individuation: development of ego, identity, and cognitive abilities.
- Subphases:
- Hatching (first months): During this stage, the infant begins to perceive a distinction between themselves and their mother. They show signs of alertness and use their mother as a reference point.
- Practicing (9–16 months): As mobility develops, the infant starts to explore their surroundings. They venture away from their mother but still feel a sense of connection to her.
- Rapprochement (15–24 months): The child becomes more aware of their separateness from the mother and seeks closeness while continuing to explore. However, a lack of alignment between the child and mother can lead to feelings of fear regarding abandonment.
- Beginning: desire to share discoveries with mother.
- Crisis: conflict between dependence and independence.
- Solution: language and superego help balance needs.
- Disruptions in this process may hinder the development of a stable identity in adulthood.
Top 10 Hindu Temples Near Beach – LetsGyan
However, Mahler’s theory is not without debate. For example, in situations where a caretaker takes on the primary nurturing role, infants can form deep attachments with them just as they would with the mother. It contradicts the assumption that the mother is always of central importance for the baby. Also, social contexts complicate the matter – even if Mahler’s theory is validated, modern society often prioritizes work, lifestyle, or practical needs over traditional caregiving structures. Parents’ choices, impacted by social and economic pressures, may therefore influence child development differently than Mahler described.
If I relate this to Lord Vishnu’s incarnation as Krishna, we see a similar dynamic. Although Krishna loved his foster mother, Yashoda, enormously, he was ultimately more deeply attached to his biological mother, Devaki. This parallel makes me inclined to agree with Mahler’s theory of separation–individuation to some extent.
However, the question remains explicitly unanswered. To reflect on it, I try to imagine myself learning a subject, say X, for which I have no prior knowledge or associations. In that state, I do not connect my learning with language—I simply perceive things as they are. It is like filling a completely empty glass with water—the water remains unchanged because the glass had nothing in it: no solution, no color, no odor. This is a state of receiving knowledge through pure absorption. Similarly, a baby constantly acts and responds. While some of these responses may be influenced by genes or heredity, the essence of their early experience lies in this pure, language-free absorption. In that sense, there is no deliberate thinking as we know it, and no need for language in those initial stages.