1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910813699103321

Autore

Wynne Clive D. L

Titolo

Do animals think? / / Clive D.L. Wynne

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton : , : Princeton University Press, , [2004]

©2004

ISBN

0-691-11311-4

1-4008-4955-1

Edizione

[Course Book]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (277 p.)

Disciplina

591.5/13

Soggetti

Animal intelligence

Consciousness in animals

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (pages [245]-259) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- 1. What Are Animals? -- 2. The Secrets of the Honeybee Machine -- 3. How Noble in Reason -- 4. What Is It Like to Be a Bat? -- 5. Talk to Me -- 6. The Pigeon That Saved a Battalion -- 7. Monkey See, Monkey Do? -- 8. Dolphins Divine -- 9. Sandwiches to Go -- References -- Acknowledgments -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Does your dog know when you've had a bad day? Can your cat tell that the coffee pot you left on might start a fire? Could a chimpanzee be trained to program your computer? In this provocative book, noted animal expert Clive Wynne debunks some commonly held notions about our furry friends. It may be romantic to ascribe human qualities to critters, he argues, but it's not very realistic. While animals are by no means dumb, they don't think the same way we do. Contrary to what many popular television shows would have us believe, animals have neither the "theory-of-mind" capabilities that humans have (that is, they are not conscious of what others are thinking) nor the capacity for higher-level reasoning. So, in Wynne's view, when Fido greets your arrival by nudging your leg, he's more apt to be asking for dinner than commiserating with your job stress. That's not to say that animals don't possess remarkable abilities--and Do Animals Think? explores countless examples: there's the honeybee, which not only remembers where it found food but communicates this information to its



hivemates through an elaborate dance. And how about the sonar-guided bat, which locates flying insects in the dark of night and devours lunch on the wing? Engagingly written, Do Animals Think? takes aim at the work of such renowned animal rights advocates as Peter Singer and Jane Goodall for falsely humanizing animals. Far from impoverishing our view of the animal kingdom, however, it underscores how the world is richer for having such a diversity of minds--be they of the animal or human variety.