Do Animals Think?

by Clive D.L. Wynne

Does your dog know when you've had a bad day? Can your cat tell that the coffee pot you left on might start a fire? Could a chimpanzee be trained to program your computer? In this provocative 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 there's the honeybee, which not 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?


Engagingly written, 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Clive D.L. Wynne is a founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University. He has published pieces in Psychology Today, New Scientist, and the New York Times, and has appeared on National Geographic Explorer, PBS, and the BBC.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently not, in so many words. I can't say that I'm entirely convinced.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It is the possession of language, self-awareness, and an awareness that others have minds too that makes it plausible for us to have rights and responsibilities. Absent these qualities, arguing for animal rights makes as much sense as advocating bicycles for fish” - Dr Clive Wynne.

I decided to give this book 5 stars because it poses very interesting questions and makes the reader think and ponder, not because I agree with Dr Wynne’s perspectives. In fact, I do question his assertions and that’s what made this such a delightful read.

Do animals have consciousness? From the case studies and experiments discussed in this book and from our experience dealing with animals around us, we can easily conclude that animals can think, can reason, can communicate with each other, but do they feel? And if they indeed feel, do they do so in the same manner as humans and have the same emotions as us or is this something unique to us? If the conclusion is that animals can think, and communicate and reason and feel, then is it an evil thing to be eating them? Are we needlessly being cruel by consuming meat when we know humans can do perfectly well as vegetarians? Or is this simply survival of the fittest species and we need not feel any guilt whatsoever?

These were the sorts of questions I pondered over a lunch of suckling pig. I felt so uncomfortable having the cooked pig’s face staring at me. To really consider these questions and to decide that animals are indeed as conscious as me would mean re-examining my lifestyle and I am not sure this is something I am prepared to do at the moment. I’ve taken the easy way out and decided not to think about these questions further but I am sure they will haunt me the next time I am confronted again so starkly that an animal, or multiple animals, had to die so that I could enjoy my lunch.

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will have a greater appreciation for bats and pigeons, I promise.

[PeggyFliss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contained a lot of interesting facts together with some pretty dull barrow-pushing

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've been so thoroughly frustrated by a book. Spent 250-some-odd pages feeling talked down to. I found the book incredibly infuriating; it took a lot of restraint not to chuck it across the room.

Wynne tears many of the famous animal behaviour experiments apart without a) positing alternatives or b) considering the other side of data interpretation. Animals don't think. Why? Because they can't. Honestly, I feel like Aristotle gave a more balanced view of animals than this man.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed boek, over de overeenkomsten en verschillen tussen mensen en dieren.

Leest vlot en vertelt hoe bijen, vleermuizen en dolfijnen communiceren met elkaars soortgenoten. Hoe zij de wereld zien en ervaren. Wat kunnen we eigenlijk weten over hen en in hoeverre zijn deze dieren zich bewust van hun handelingen?

Boeiend, geen tralala en moeilijke woorden, en zeker niet verouderd!
(eerste Engelse druk van 2004)

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give up. And I only gave it 2 stars because it couldn't sustain my interest right now (even though it's written in a reader-friendly and conversational tone). Maybe it's because it's summer and my brain is fried. I don't know. But I did read a few chapters. And skimmed some. And skipped to the parts that looked interesting to me. And now I need to return it to the library.

[Ameer]

for those of us who love psychology related books; this is a must read.

A very thought provoking book that leaves you wondering...

[Christian Galano · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was for a Psychology course, so blah..

[Jayden Carrier]

I enjoyed the book and I actually learned a lot about the thought process of different animals. I think this book is really interesting and funny at times so I would definitely recommend it.