Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
- 作者
- 出版社 W. W. Norton & Company
- 出版时间 2016年4月
- ISBN 9780393246186
- 定价 310.30
内容简介
Whatseparatesyourmindfromananimal's?Maybeyouthinkit'syourabilitytodesigntools，yoursenseofself，oryourgraspofpastandfuture-alltraitsthathavehelpedusdefineourselvesastheplanet'spreeminentspecies.Butinrecentdecades，theseclaimshaveeroded，orevenbeendisprovenoutright，byarevolutioninthestudyofanimalcognition.Takethewayoctopusesusecoconutshellsastools;elephantsthatclassifyhumansbyage，gender，andlanguage;orAyumu，theyoungmalechimpanzeeatKyotoUniversitywhoseflashmemoryputsthatofhumanstoshame.Basedonresearchinvolvingcrows，dolphins，parrots，sheep，wasps，bats，whales，andofcoursechimpanzeesandbonobos，FransdeWaalexploresboththescopeandthedepthofanimalintelligence.Heoffersafirsthandaccountofhowsciencehasstoodtraditionalbehaviorismonitsheadbyrevealinghowsmartanimalsreallyare，andhowwe'veunderestimatedtheirabilitiesfortoolong.Peopleoftenassumeacognitiveladder，fromlowertohigherforms，withourownintelligenceatthetop.Butwhatifitismorelikeabush，withcognitiontakingdifferentformsthatareoftenincomparabletoours?Wouldyoupresumeyourselfdumberthanasquirrelbecauseyou'relessadeptatrecallingthelocationsofhundredsofburiedacorns?Orwouldyoujudgeyourperceptionofyoursurroundingsasmoresophisticatedthanthatofaecholocatingbat?DeWaalreviewstheriseandfallofthemechanisticviewofanimalsandopensourmindstotheideathatanimalmindsarefarmoreintricateandcomplexthanwehaveassumed.DeWaal'slandmarkworkwillconvinceyoutorethinkeverythingyouthoughtyouknewaboutanimal-andhuman-intelligence.
— END —