Jean Piaget is born in 1896 in an affluent social environment. His mother Rebecca Jackson is descended from the great Protestant families linked to the French steel industry, while his father, Arthur, is a historian and professor of language and literature at the Academy of Neuchâtel and the State Archive. During his childhood he shows multiple interests and his vocation as a naturalist is consolidated during adolescence, when he appropriates the methods of zoology by applying them to the molluscs of the lakes. During his secondary studies, Jean is recognized as a malacologist for his skills as a naturalist and his involvement in networks of international specialists. His interest in biology moves from classification to the problem of the relationship between knowledge and evolution, nourished by numerous philosophical readings. At that time, he reads many books, including philosophy, science, sociology, theology and psychology. In addition, he was a member of many local associations, such as the “club of the friends of nature”, “Jeunesses Chrétiennes” and the socialist movements, a prelude to his later membership of many societies of science, philosophy and humanities.