For whatever reason, I somehow ended up in a course this semester which is led by a big animal rights activist. From what I can determine so far, given some of the content we've read, the course is going to make the argument that animals and humans aren't qualitatively different but only different in degree. For instance, a book he's having us read discusses how capacities long thought to have been exclusive to humans are actually found in animals: problem solving, tool making and tool use, language (albeit of their own kind), art (because spiders make pretty webs and we shouldn't judge other species' masterpieces by our idea of what art should be), and culture (certain apes fashion themselves with leaves, rocks, dead animals, and will play certain games).

To me all of this is quite a stretch. However, my professor made a claim today which has been troubling. He believes animals, specifically apes, are capable of reason and abstract thought. He defines reason as problem solving. He uses the example of an ape imagining how to reach a banana by stacking crates a certain way, and then following through with his plan. Abstract thought, according to him, is proved to be present in apes who were taught sign language. For instance, an ape named Lucy was taught the names of trees, birds, apples, etc. She allegedly would tour people around her backyard, pointing to birds and different trees and signing their names, "that is tree," "that is bird."

The argument goes that the ape understands that there are multiple flying things, for instance, that have feathers and beaks. But all of these multiple flying things aren't their own particular kind, rather they all are "birds." That is, the ape understands that what is essential to being a bird is that it's is the kind of thing that has feathers, wings, and a beak. So the ape can abstract away accidental features and understand a universal concept that applies to the concrete particulars. Hence the reason why Lucy can identify a wide range of different looking birds as "birds," is because she recognizes that, despite their individual features, they share common universal features. That is, she grasps the abstract concept of bird. Therefore, the argument concludes, at least apes are capable of abstract thought, and aren't merely aware of particulars.

Last edited by RomanJoe (8/30/2017 2:02 pm)