Beyond Words: How Animals Think and Feel

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3. Define “theory of mind” and give two of Safina’s examples of animals showing that they possess this ability.

Theory of mind is the capacity to attribute mental states such as knowledge, desires, intents and beliefs to oneself and others and have an understanding that others have desires, intentions, perspectives and beliefs that are different from one’s own(Safina, 2015).Through theory of mind, empathy can be expressed as it can be shown by animals in Safina’s book. Many animals show empathy towards each other, and one example is the elephant that has been associated with finding people who have been lost. There is a case where an elephant came across a woman who could not see well and got lost but was found the next day with an elephant guarding her. The woman was found caged with tree branches to protect her from hyenas.

The dog is the animal that clearly shows how the theory of mind is evident in animals. The dog can think and plan ahead (Safina, 2015). They may fail to anticipate what they are likely to do next, but know when they should go out and when they want human beings to take them for a run. This shows that they have the capability to understand that people have their schedule and other activities to meet, and, therefore, they cannot be taken out for a run every time. Also, when taken to the beach, they understand that there is routine even if they have not been there for months.

4. Safina writes, “Sometimes people apply a weird double standard: we start with the premise that other animals are not as intelligent as humans, then we hold them to a higher level of performance.” (Safina 252) Give two of Safina’s examples of researchers holding animals to “a higher standard of performance” than humans

An example of an animal that has been held to a double standard is Killer whale as they forge for salmon off Vancouver Island. Several whales bow their backs and drive steeply while the fish have attention. The closest whale behind use is L-92 that begins a series of high-arching lunges with commotion and lots of splashing. The other animal is the legendary wolf from Yellowstone that never lost a fight and killed every opponent. However, he concludes that the wolf cannot be magnanimous, and nobility of animals is just a matter of perspectives (Safina, 2015).

References

Safina, C. (2015). Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. New York: Henry Holt and Co.