Even educated fleas do it

Babe keeps his eye on a bird in the branches above (left) while American Primitive painting appears to portray a bird's-eye view of a cat

"HUMANS like to regard themselves as exceptional," notes the Economist:

Other animals do not have complex, syntactical languages. Nor do most of them appear to enjoy the same level of consciousness that people do. And many philosophers believe humans are the only species which understands that others have their own personal thoughts. That understanding is known in the trade as having a “theory of mind”, and it is considered the gateway to such cherished human qualities as empathy and deception.

Biologists have learned to treat such assertions with caution. In particular, they have found evidence of theories of mind in a range of mammals, from gorillas to goats. But two recent studies suggest that even mammalian studies may be looking at the question too narrowly. Birds, it seems, can have theories of mind, too.

Anyone who's loved and lived intimately with cats or dogs or birds knew it all along, of course. Sometimes science -- burdened with cultural anthropocentrism -- can be a lagging indicator:

Response to gaze is reckoned to be a good measure of the development of theory of mind in human children . . . Dr Heinrich and Dr Bugnyar found that all the birds were able to follow the gaze of the experimenters, even beyond the barrier.

Ravens may have mastered the art of deception too. Clearly (and not unexpectedly) ravens are able to learn about food sources from one another. They are also able to bully each other to gain access to that food . . . But then something unexpected happened. Hugin, the subordinate, tried a new strategy. As soon as Munin bullied him, he headed over to a set of empty containers, prised the lids off them enthusiastically, and pretended to eat. Munin followed, whereupon Hugin returned to the loaded containers and ate his fill.

[via Arts & Letters Daily]

Comments

[arthur jameson]

Cats and dogs and horses soon learn how to take advantage of their human companions. They also soon learn how far they can push the envelope.

[Sissy Willis]

They are not fettered by political correctness.