I remember in one lecture, we got on the topic of how animals think. I find it really interesting, because they do not have language with words like humans do. They do have some form of communication though, because they are able to interact with other animals. So, that means they must think, right? I know it is really hard, if not impossible to understand how animals think (for example: in pictures, some form of their means of communication, etc.), but does anybody know if any experiments have been done testing this question?
Lee
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i have a dog that i love very much and sometimes i've wondered how much she thinks and understands. while it seems as though animals reason/problem solve (as with the keas and the string) but it's hard for us to imagine problem solving without language, as we often "talk ourselves through" a problem. Similarly, it's cleat that my dog has emotions. she gets very excited or sometimes morose and hides under the kitchen table to sulk. but i think there's a key difference in that we are conciously aware of ourselves and so we know we feel something called "sadness" while she is probably unaware of "feelings."
Well i don't know if emotions are a sign of thinking though. I agree my dog, cat, bird, even my pig have emotions but that does that qualify thinking?
I am not sure whether emotions are classified as thinking, but i think there are instances in which animals must think. Does processing information count as thinking? Because when it is time for my dog to eat, we will tell him to go get food, and he will go straight to his food bowl. So, was he thinking while processing that information?
well, its hard to define "thinking", but there is a definite decision making process that goes through animals minds, animals must realize that if i do a(sit in the kitchen) then b will happen(they get food). how much of it is instinctive and how much is cognitive is difficult to say, but i cannot imagine that they do not think at all, at least higher evolved mammals.
I don't if you could call it thinking, but there is definetly some sort of process going on.
As probably many of your dogs, my dog will sit if you tell him "sit", he will lay if u tell him to do so...
So there is definetly some understanding there.
I've also thought that it could be related to the pitch of my voice. I've noticed, that he will get excited if I talk in a higher pitch. Maybe you can't afirm that they "think", but there is some sort of processing there...
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