Do Animals Have Thought?

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Staring my dog in the eyes after she had grabbed a muffin on my kitchen floor, I see her head cautiously tip to the ground, and her jaw release the little treat. I smile and lower my scolding finger, only for her to mischievously grab the muffin off the ground once more, and bolt into the backyard to finish it off before I have a chance to stop her. That was a clever move of deception on her part, and it is everyday interactions like this one that lead me to the bigger question I want to address. Do animals have thought? And if so, how similar is it to the human definition of thought, and mindfulness? In this paper I will argue a point similar to one discussed by philosopher Marc Hauser, that animals cognitive abilities form a continuum from the least complex to the most complex, and that there is no great discontinuity between human and non- human animal cognition (Hauser). Hauser argues that no non- human animals have communication closely analogous to human language, but human- like language is not necessary for thought. I will provide reasoning on two major supposed components of advanced cognition, language and empathy, in order to prove that there exists a spectrum of animal cognition, and within it a continuum of both language and empathetic qualities that non- human animals embody.
I will start by stating Marc Hauser’s argument on animal cognition, from Wild Minds. Hauser argues that animal’s cognitive abilities form a continuum from the least complex to the most complex, where human cognitive abilities can be found on the most complex end of the continuum. There is no great discontinuity between human and animal cognition, although a hierarchy of communication does exist, ranging from involuntary, voluntary, referential,...

... middle of paper ...

...’s young, but she still chooses to play, bond and care for the chimp.

Works Cited

"Bonobo Facts | Pygmy Chimpanzee | Chimps | Endangered Animals." Animal Fact Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Clay Z, de Waal FBM (2013) Bonobos Respond to Distress in Others: Consolation across the Age Spectrum. PLoS ONE 8(1): e55206. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055206

Dennett, Daniel Clement. Kinds of Minds: Toward an Understanding of Consciousness. New York, NY: Basic, 1996. Print.

Gallup, G. G. “Can Animals Empathize? Yes.” Scientific American 9.4 (1998): 67- 76. Web

Goodall, Jane. Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print.

Hauser, Marc D. Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think. New York: Henry Holt, 2000. Print.

Povinelli, Daniel J. “Can Animals Empathize? Maybe Not.” Scientific American (1998): 67-76. Web.

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