In the 1960s, when scientists began exploring emotions in nonhuman animals, they published papers putting the words in quotation marks—"sympathy," "altruism," "love"—because they thought other scientists would never believe them if they said that animals really do experience feelings like ours. Now, hundreds of studies have proved that nonhuman animals think, feel, and experience love, anxiety, jealousy, and other emotions in much the same way that humans do.
And yet, when people measure intelligence in other animals, it's done from a human point of view: Can a nonhuman animal read or write, speak, drive a car, do algebra? This human-centric point of view doesn't really mean much. Does a fish need to drive a car? How does it help a cat to do algebra?
But switch it around and look at it from a nonhuman animal's point of view. Can a human sniff out a gram of cocaine hidden in one of a thousand suitcases at an airport? A dog can. Can a human mother find her baby by scent alone in a group of 50 babies? Sheep and cows can. Can people distribute the pigment in our bodies so that we match a checker board? A cuttlefish can. Can we hear at ultrasonic levels? Mice can.
Stimulus Response: A unique video in which viewers can see the complex and unique ways that nonhuman animals are aware of, learn from, and react to the world around them. Other Viewing Options
In the last few decades, scientists have begun to understand this, and admit that animals are intelligent in ways that people were too blind to see in the past.
Take the case of Alex the parrot, who died in September 2007. Alex learned English well enough to identify and describe more than 50 objects. He could also count and was able to express his desires, including his frustration with repetitive research. Until Alex, some scientists believed that birds couldn't think, that they acted only on instinct. New York Times columnist Verlyn Klinkenborg summed up the irony of our awe of Alex nicely:
"We're too invested in the idea of our superiority to understand what an inferior quality it really is. I always wonder how the experiments would go if they were reversed—if, instead of us trying to teach Alex how to use the English language, Alex were to try teaching us to understand the world as it appears to parrots."
Scientific journals are now packed with examples of nonhuman animals demonstrating their ability to grieve, exercise kindness, understand justice and fair play, experience empathy, develop friendships, love and court one another, and share close family bonds. Award-winning scientist Dr. Marc Bekoff has written insightful portrayals of the world of animals' emotions.
In this book, Dr. Bekoff shares his years of experience studying animals' social interactions and communications.
Here's an excerpt:
Empathy or compassion is an important secondary emotion to identify in animals, for it demonstrates a selfless caring for others … I read a … story about two grizzly bear cubs who stuck together after they were orphaned when their mother was shot near the Russian River. The female cub remained with her wounded sibling, though he limped, swam very slowly, and needed help to get food. An observer noted, "She came out and got a fish, and pulled it back, and then she let the other one eat." The young female obviously cared for her brother, and her support was crucial for his survival.
Minding Animals
Printer-Friendly
l
E-Mail This Page
l
Subscribe to E-News
