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> it is very easy to anthropomorphize animal behaviour It is also easy to assume that an animal's internal life is dumb and uninteresting.
by techiferous 10y ago
> it is very easy to anthropomorphize animal behaviour
It is also easy to assume that an animal's internal life is dumb and uninteresting.
- krylon 10y agoIt is a valid objection. When a certain type of great cat kills, say, an antelope, it will look around carefully. Humans first describing this behavior assumed the cats were feeling guilty for killing and wanted to check if there were any "witnesses". Nowadays, this behavior is interpreted as checking for hyenas, who like to snatch away prey from other predators. I would not consider this behavior dumb or uninteresting, but it is - probably - for a different reason than a human observer might naively assume. Being aware that animals might do things for different reasons than humans is not dismissing the animal's motives, it can be a key to understanding its behavior. It is not at all the same as assuming an animal's internal life is dumb and uninteresting, at least I do not think the GP wanted to imply that.