{"id":6298,"date":"2017-01-14T21:13:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-14T21:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.plato-philosophy.org\/?post_type=teachertoolkit&p=6298"},"modified":"2025-03-03T14:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T22:44:13","slug":"animal-minds-puzzling-puppies-parrots","status":"publish","type":"teachertoolkit","link":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/animal-minds-puzzling-puppies-parrots\/","title":{"rendered":"Animal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots"},"content":{"rendered":"

For much of modern science, since the Enlightenment, animals were generally thought to be automatons:  materialist robots programmed to behave in certain ways.  Rene Descartes<\/a> drew a sharp distinction between thinking beings, humans, and everything else, matter.  20th Century behaviorism continued to think of animals in this way but added humans to the mix.  “Mind” was a myth, a “ghost in the machine<\/a>“, and did not really exist.  All that counted was behavior and we did not think to complicate science by positing a “mind” behind the actions.<\/p>\n

But in recent decades the question of the animal mind has come to the fore again.  The question of an animal mind is a difficult one:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You want to avoid anthropomorphizing species by claiming similarities to our experiences simply on the basis that they look similar.<\/li>\n
  2. You want also to avoid denying similarities just because they are, well, animals and not humans.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Connected to this are a set of wonderful questions about consciousness, the marks of mind, intentionality, self-awareness, and the basic challenge for us of understanding a being which is not completely analogous to a human and may be quite alien.  Think: snakes, mosquitos, fish.<\/p>\n

    This lesson will introduce students to a reading from National Geographic online on animal minds and a TED video on animal awareness by Franz DeWaal.  Use these two sources to get students discussing the criteria for a mind, the scientific process of testing hypotheses, and the important questions about how we can know.<\/p>\n

    A. Read this short online article from National Geographic<\/a> which details some experiments to prove that animals have minds.  As you are reading it, note the criteria or signs used to point to a “mind.”  Discuss your answers to the questions below.<\/p>\n

    B. Watch the Franz DeWaal video (see below) about animals showing compassion and a sense of justice.  Discuss the questions below.<\/p>\n

    C. What difference<\/em> would it make if animals had minds?  Create a class chart on the differences it would make, or not make.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    For much of modern science, since the Enlightenment, animals were generally thought to be automatons:  materialist robots programmed to behave in certain ways.  Rene Descartes drew a sharp distinction between thinking beings, humans, and everything else, matter.  20th Century behaviorism continued to think of animals in this way but added humans to the mix.  “Mind” … Animal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14933,"template":"","toolkitcategory":[756,33],"gradelevel":[48,47],"topics":[309,317,256,310,308,485],"class_list":["post-6298","teachertoolkit","type-teachertoolkit","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","toolkitcategory-ethics","toolkitcategory-science","gradelevel-high-school-and-beyond","gradelevel-middle-school","topics-animals","topics-consciousness","topics-epistemology","topics-knowledge","topics-mind","topics-personhood"],"yoast_head":"\nAnimal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Animal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For much of modern science, since the Enlightenment, animals were generally thought to be automatons:  materialist robots programmed to behave in certain ways.  Rene Descartes drew a sharp distinction between thinking beings, humans, and everything else, matter.  20th Century behaviorism continued to think of animals in this way but added humans to the mix.  “Mind” ... 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