Animal Thinking

Abstract

Discusses whether or not animals engage in conscious thought, noting that most scientists concerned with animal behavior have felt that looking for consciousness in animals is futile. A discussion is initiated of the types of behavior that suggest conscious thinking, and examples of such behavior in animals are presented. Connected interactional patterns of behavior suggest conscious thought, and the use of probes by chimpanzees and the dance language of honeybees are illustrations of such patterns. Conscious thinking is also evidenced by the use of intentional communicative signals to convey specific meanings. The vervet monkey's 3 types of alarm calls have been proven to be signals of different types of prey and elicit different defense postures by their companions. In a discussion of the adaptive economy of conscious thinking, it is argued that conscious thinking and evaluation have important advantages to animal life.