For the past month or two my mom has been sending me pictures and videos of a red cardinal who seems to be “fighting himself” in our garden mirror. We assume the cardinal to be a resident of our backyard as he always comes back, every day, to “fight himself” and sometimes a female bird accompanies him and last year even some fledglings. Is this cardinal really “fighting himself?” Does he even recognize that that is indeed, a reflection of him showing back to him?
As until recently, humans were thought to have been the only living creatures who have what we call “self-recognition.” Self-recognition, for our purposes, is defined by the mirror test. The mirror test was and still is an experiment developed by psychologist Gordon Gallup Jr. to determine whether an animal possesses the ability to recognize itself in a mirror (Gallup, 1970). It is used as an indicator of self-awareness in human and non-human animals, such as chimpanzees and dolphins. Typically a mirror is placed in the enclosure of the animal subject and reactions to the mirror are recorded. To test whether or not the animal has self-awareness, researchers would then disfigure the animal in some way, for example placing a red dot inconspicuously on the back on a chimp or dolphin. If the animal inspects it, try to remove it, etc it is said the animal has self-recognition. For the purpose of this paper, I would like to define the reactions and evidence of three main animals who have self-awareness: human, apes, and dolphins.
As humans, we all recognize that we have self-awareness. We look at ourselves daily in a mirror to tell if our outfit looks cute or if we’re having a bad hair day. However, we do not start to develop a sense of self-awareness until about 18 months o...
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...r skills and coordination. Our findings suggest, that young dolphins may show advanced cognition at an earlier age with respect to mirror self-directed behavior as compared to humans and chimpanzees” (Reiss & Morrison, 2012).
Now as for our little cardinal friend, it has not been found that they have such self-recognition. It is likely that he is actually “fighting himself” because he may think that it is another male cardinal in his territory. The only bird that been proven to show self-recognition is the magpie (Prior, Schwarz, Gunturkun, 2008). My point in writing this paper however, is to show that we are not the only sentient and all-knowing beings out there. It is important for us to discover the true possibilities of the living creatures around us and give them the respect they deserve. We are not the only ones who can recognize if we have a bad hair day.
This article, titled Common Ground, written by Barbara Smuts, points out the main differences between humans and apes, such as our upright stance, large brains, and capacity for spoken language and abstract reasoning. However, the main point of this article is to emphasize the many similarities that apes share with us. Smuts goes into great detail about how human social and emotional tendencies are very reflective in the family of apes.
Suddenforf, T. (2009). The Evolution of Primate Visual Self-Recognition: Evidence of Absence in Lesser Apes. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 1671-1677. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/30244994?ref=search-gateway:81407c811d684607878e4295bbbf261a>
In this example, two primates were placed behind either a transparent or an opaque screen. Between these screens was a banana and I learned how a primate reacted when approached with the option if he should go for the banana when put against a dominant primate. I was impressed that they didn’t engage in a brawl over the banana, but instead used thought in regard to hierarchy. This to me, without doubt, proves once more that primates are able to produce complex behaviors that relate to humans. Thinking like this insinuates that primates as well as creatures other than humans have the ability of using
Mitchell, R. W. (1992). Developing concepts in infancy: Animals, self-perception, and two theories of mirror self-recognition. Psychological Inquiry, 3(2), 127-130. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0302_9
They are the second smartest animal in the world. They nurture their young for most of their lives. They also socialise with any creature, unless they show signs of harm. Dolphins make very popular playmates and will come up to humans for almost anything. They rely on each other to live. They learn quickly and communicate well with one another. God designed dolphins with unique physical features and behaviors in order to glorify Him.
These questions are given a possible answer in The Great Silence when the bird explains his
Cohen, Jon. "Thinking Like A Chimpanzee." Smithsonian 41.5 (2010): 50. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
In today’s society, the mind is a set of cognitive elements which enables an individual’s consciousness, perception, thinking, judgement, and memory. In addition, without our minds and/or conscious experiences, a person would not be able to understand what makes them who they are. Similarly, in Thomas Nagel’s essay “What Is It Like to Be a Bat,” Nagel claims that even though there is something it is like to be an organism, humans are not capable of fully knowing what it is like to be a bat. In addition, Nagel supports his claims through the importance of an organism’s conscious experiences, memories, and knowledge which allow an individual to identify themselves. Therefore, in this paper I will discuss Nagel’s argument which I believe
Reaching into Thought: The Minds of the Great Apes, ed. A. E. Russon, K. A. Bard & S. T. Parker, pp. 257–77. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Bit by bit, in ingenious experiments, researchers have documented these talents in other species, gradually chipping away at what we thought made human beings distinctive while offering a glimpse of where our own abilities came from. Scrub jays know that other jays are thieves and that stashed food can spoil; sheep can recognize faces; chimpanzees use a variety of tools to probe termite mounds and even use weapons to hunt small mammals; dolphins can imitate human postures; the archerfish, which stuns insects with a sudden blast of water, can learn how to aim its squirt simply by watching an experienced fish perform the task. And Alex the parrot turned out to be a surprisingly good
It is nearly impossible to say whether non-human animals are intelligent. Most studies, in this field of psychology, were carried out on primates, and it is thought that these animals are naturally superior. It seems most behaviour in the research discussed in this essay can be explained through association learning, therefore not actually a result of intelligence. It is difficult to falsify whether animals are intelligent or not because, although they are able to solve problems they only show some aspects to suggest ToM.
The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Wilson Watts is a book of books. The Book not only touches on multitudes of Eastern philosophy but also magnificently ties all of its content to the west, and a modern so called civilized world. Watts, not only a writer but also a speaker and philosopher has an utmost diverse résumé. He moved to America from Great Britain and after slightly studying Zen, stepped back and earned a master’s degree in theology from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and later a doctorate in divinity. After being an Episcopal priest for five years he left the ministry and continued his Eastern religious and lifestyle studies. Publishing more than twenty five books beginning in 1936 and leading all the way up to his death in 1973, The Book was a final piece for his most clear and topical thoughts (McLeod). The Book should be approved for the Gilbert Public Schools Approved Reading List for its easily
There are many reasons why dolphins are very intelligent animals, there are 33 different types of marine dolphins, 4 types of river dolphins, and 6 types of porpoises (dolphins are mammals). Some of the dolphinspeople may think they would be whales, because of their looks, but they are dolphins. Dolphins have a strong behavior; they are very social and travel in groups together. They commonly swim in groups of 2-15 . Severalof different groups of dolphins may temporarily join, for several minutes or hours. In the open waters of theocean, some dolphins will leave their group and change associates and adapt with different dolphins threw outtime (Dolphins communication). In the groups, some members will form a strong bond with one another in thepod. The sizes of the groups tend to increase with the water depth of the ocean and the openness of the habitat, this usually happens when protection with strong with each other and foraging st...
Self-awareness is not about reading a book or attending a course. Self-awareness is a journey, and it takes practice. It’s like a muscle that becomes more effective with time and effort. It gives us mental strength as opposed to physical strength. We are constantly changing and adapting to the multiple external forces around us and to our individual experiences. The more we learn to be aware of, and understand, our reactions, thoughts, and emotions, while also keeping in mind our values, the more we can become the best we can be and the more successful we can become.
“Self-awareness is a psychological state in which people are aware of their traits, feelings and behaviour. Alternatively, it can be defined as the realisation of oneself as an individual entity.” (Crisp & Turner, 2010). In other words, self awareness is recognising one’s personality which includes strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs and emotions.