Review: "The Forbidden Experiment" - The Story of the Wild Boy of Aveyron and Enlightenment Debates
By
Caiero
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
This article is a review of the reprint edition of Roger Shattuck's "The Forbidden Experiment: The Story of the Wild Boy of Aveyron," which examines the historical case of Victor, a feral child discovered in France in 1800. The review explores how this case intersected with Enlightenment philosophy, debates about human nature, and the revolutionary context of post-revolutionary France. It discusses the attempts by Dr. Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard to educate and civilize Victor, and how this case challenged prevailing ideas about the relationship between nature and nurture, language acquisition, and what it means to be human.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledIN 1800, THE YEAR the story of the Wild Boy of Aveyron begins, France had long since moved beyond the most radical phase of its revolution.
The two most revolutionary groups, the Jacobins and the Cordeliers, had been suppressed, and the Directory was in power, soon to be replaced by Napoleon Bonaparte.
The case of the Wild Boy of Aveyron presented a unique opportunity to test Enlightenment theories about human nature and education.
Victor's story became a focal point for debates about what separates humans from animals and the role of society in shaping human identity.
Shattuck's work examines how this 'forbidden experiment' challenged fundamental assumptions about language, civilization, and human development.
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