Research Catalog

Title

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

Author

Wynne, Clive D. L.

Publication

Princeton, N.J. ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, [2004], ©2004.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

268 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"In this 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 no 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?" "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."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Animal intelligence
• Consciousness in animals

Bibliography (note)

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

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.

ISBN

0691113114 (hbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

2003060019

OCLC

• 52765941
• ocm52765941
• SCSB-5105442

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries