By FRANS de WAAL on animal cognition (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, April 09, 2016, 16:12 (3149 days ago)

From the NY Times. Great article from a great research scientist. I don't agree with his conclusions, but then neither do many of the comments. There is a great diagram of animal cognition:-http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/opinion/sunday/what-i-learned-from-tickling-apes.html?emc=edit_th_20160409&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=60788861&_r=0-"Increased respect for animal intelligence also has consequences for cognitive science. For too long, we have left the human intellect dangling in empty evolutionary space. How could our species arrive at planning, empathy, consciousness and so on, if we are part of a natural world devoid of any and all steppingstones to such capacities? Wouldn't this be about as unlikely as us being the only primates with wings?-"Evolution is a gradual process of descent with modification, whether we are talking about physical or mental traits. The more we play down animal intelligence, the more we ask science to believe in miracles when it comes to the human mind. Instead of insisting on our superiority in every regard, let's take pride in the connections.-"There is nothing wrong with the recognition that we are apes — smart ones perhaps, but apes nonetheless. As an ape lover, I can't see this comparison as insulting. We are endowed with the mental powers and imagination to get under the skin of other species. The more we succeed, the more we will realize that we are not the only intelligent life on earth."