Religion’s Rethinking Animal Intelligence: Descartes to Church Doctrine
Rene Descartes, a significant figure in the age of reason, held a monumental influence on Christian views about animal intelligence and consciousness. Back in his time, the Christian Church began to rethink Aristotle’s concepts of animal intelligence due to related theological implications. At the heart of this reconsideration was the emerging question about the existence of animal souls and whether they could find a place in heaven. This was a dicey issue, considering these questions raised serious implications about the nature of God’s creations and the divine justice of the Almighty.
Building upon the prevalent discussions, Descartes peddled a radical theory in his “Discourse on Method.” He pushed the belief that animals were devoid of soul and were nothing more than machines. This theory of Descartes opened a whole new discourse about the nature of animal life, shaking the foundations of both theological and philosophical thinking prevalent back then, and eventually making its way into Church doctrine.
Descartes’ Views on Animals: Influences and Justifications
Rene Descartes derived influential inspiration from an unlikely source: the automated statues in the royal gardens of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. These mechanical contraptions stirred his mind, prompting him to perceive animals on similar lines. In his work “Treatise on Man” published in 1664, Descartes made a provocative comparison between human bodies and the royal garden’s animated statues.
Expounding further, Descartes defended his hypothesis with a fascinating argument. He suggested that animals, similar to these automated statues, operate without consciousness or intelligence. The statues’ intricate, automated movements stood as a living testament to his ideas, serving as a tangible, visible form to strengthen his theories. In essence, these robotic figures were Descartes’s vehicle to drive home his contentious rhetoric – animals as crude, mechanical beings, devoid of souls and bereft of any intelligence.
Contrasting Ideas About Animal Nature
Despite Descartes’ mechanical perspective of animals, the counterpoint from Jeanne Schinto offers a stark contrast.
She emphatically states that dogs, and by extension presumably other animals, possess their own unique nature separate from humans. Instead of viewing them as soulless machines, Schinto considers animals as sentient beings with distinct personalities and behaviors. This viewpoint presents a more compassionate and respectful understanding of animal life, refuting Descartes’s reductionist interpretation. Schinto’s voice represents a counter-narrative that respects and acknowledges animal intelligence, autonomy, and individuality.
| Milestone | Description |
|---|---|
| Introduction of Canine Psychology | Early 20th-century studies began to explore canine psychology, differentiating dog behavior from other animals. |
| Advancements in Neurology | Recent neuroscientific research has revealed more about how dogs process information, emotions, and social cues. |
| Development of Dog Training Methods | Innovative dog training methods emerged, focusing on positive reinforcement and understanding canine behavior. |
| Studies on Canine Emotions | Research in the 21st century has begun to investigate the emotional lives of dogs, understanding their capacity for emotions like joy and sadness. |
| Investigation of Dog-Human Bond | Studies have focused on the unique bond between dogs and humans, exploring how this relationship benefits both species. |
| Exploring Canine Communication | Research into how dogs communicate with humans and other dogs, understanding their body language and vocalizations. |
- Title: Key Milestones in Understanding Canine Intelligence
- Aristotle’s Perspective: Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, believed in different degrees of mental abilities across species, including dogs.
- Descartes’ Mechanical View: Rene Descartes, in the 17th century, argued that animals were soulless machines, a view influencing Christian ecclesiastical establishment.
- Church’s Ethical Dilemma: The Christian Church struggled with the idea of animal souls, which could imply their presence in heaven, leading to ethical and theological complexities.
- Behaviorism Emerges: Influenced by Descartes, behaviorists viewed animal behavior as mechanistic, focusing on observable actions without attributing consciousness.
- Clever Hans Effect: Early 20th-century psychologists believed a horse named Clever Hans was performing arithmetic, later debunked by Oskar Pfungst, influencing views on animal intelligence.
- Modern Recognition of Animal Cognition: Contemporary scientists are increasingly acknowledging animal cognition, suggesting higher thought processes in animals like dogs.
“If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.” – James Thurber
Historical Views on Animal Emotions and Intelligence
The French philosopher, Nicolas de Malebranche, expanded on the work of Descartes, taking a rather controversial stance by denying animals the ability to have emotions and feelings. His stance further legitimised the concept propounded by Descartes which justified the cruel treatment of animals in scientific experiments.
Another notable advocate of such viewpoints was P. Carruthers, who took to the Journal of Philosophy to echo similar comprehension of the triviality of animal pain.
However, contradictorily Descartes did personally own a dog named Monsieur Grat, towards whom he displayed affection and even speculated about its thoughts. This seemingly contradicts the harsh view he propagated, showing a more personal and empathetic relationship with his canine friend.
Behaviourism and Its Impact on Perception of Animal Intelligence
Following Descartes’s philosophical legacy, behaviourists continued to view animal behaviour as purely mechanistic. The focus of these behaviourists was mainly on the externally observable actions of animals, deliberately ignoring any terms that would suggest conscious thought.
This behaviour-oriented approach was vastly influenced by the famed case of Clever Hans, a performing horse that took the early 20th-century by storm due to its apparent display of intelligence. However, Oskar Pfungst’s research in 1911 debunked these claims by showing that Clever Hans was merely responding to very subtle human cues rather than genuinely performing arithmetic.
The Clever Hans case led to widespread scepticism concerning animal intelligence within the psychological community.
Yet intriguingly, many behaviourists often attribute conscious mental states to their pets outside of their professional environments, suggesting they may personally believe animals to hold greater cognitive abilities than they officially admit.
Unpacking Philosophy and Psychological Theories on Animals
Nicolas de Malebranche extended Descartes’s work by continuing to deny the belief that animals possess emotions and feelings. Such ideas were justified through theories that allowed and encouraged the severity of treating animals cruelly in scientific experiments. These views echoed in the Journal of Philosophy by P. Carruthers, asserting that animal pain was insignificant.
Although behaviourists strictly follow this school of thought professionally by recognising animals as devoid of conscious thought, they often attribute conscious mental states to their pets in casual settings, offering some level of contradiction in their own belief systems.
Morgan’s Canon and Animal Consciousness
Morgan’s Canon, a principle suggested by C. Lloyd Morgan, sublime in its simplicity, deals with the interpretation of animal behaviors. It propounds that animal actions should be perceived through the simplest psychological explanations possible.
What it does not do, however, is deny the concept of animal consciousness outright. While Morgan’s Canon guards against overcomplicated interpretations of animals’ actions, it doesn’t contest the possibility of animals having some level of awareness or consciousness.
Therefore, it encourages a balance between overshooting and undermining animals’ cognitive abilities.
Exploring Deceptive Behavior in Dogs: Sign of Animal Consciousness?
Animal behavior researchers Robert Mitchell and Nicholas Thompson have conducted intriguing studies with a rather playful focus – dogs engaged in deception while playing with humans.
Deceptive behavior during play involves a fascinating cognitive concept called the ‘theory of mind’, a recognition that others possess consciousness, a prerequisite for successful deception.
Familiar games with dogs, like “keep-away” and “misdirection” involve this deception, hinting at a possible theory of mind in our canine friends.
Astonishingly, dogs try to deceive their human playmates in around 92% of the time, bolstering the argument for consciousness in dogs.
These findings pose playful yet profound questions about dogs and their potential for having a theory of mind, indicating that they could be more aware of their actions than previously thought.
Our canine companions may be more cognitively sophisticated and conscious than many of us realize.
And if anyone can doubt the deceptive intentions in these videos, then surely there is something lacking!?
Notwithstanding, ongoing research in “animal cognition” is seen as a promising avenue. It’s anticipated to provide critical insights into animal consciousness and intelligence, which would be landmark findings in corroborating the hypothesis of the possibility of consciousness and intelligence in animals other than humans.
“If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.” – James Thurber
Understanding of Dogs’ Consciousness and Intelligence
This section explores the intriguing hypothesis of the presence of consciousness and intelligence in dogs, using a multitude of factors.
A marked observation was made that humans can successfully deceive dogs in play 47% of the time, indicating that dogs possess a level of consciousness.
A classic example is ‘Wiz’, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Wiz exhibited behavior that implies conscious decision-making such as creating a bed in a sunlit area. This owes to the viewpoint of some behavioral scientists, who, notwithstanding morphological similarities in nervous system structures between humans and animals, often deny animal consciousness in the absence of explicit evidence.
The Great Debate: Animal Consciousness
Historically, there’s always been a contradiction between recognizing and denying consciousness in animals by behaviorists.
They often avoid acknowledging it in scientific settings, despite imperceptible recognition in personal interactions. The lack of evidence against animal consciousness should not lead us to conclude it’s non-existent. In fact any pet owner knows without doubt that our friend is conscious, how ridiculous to think otherwise!!
The predictive and explanatory aspect of mentalistic descriptions serves as guides in understanding animal behavior much better, providing signs that consciousness in animals isn’t a far-off idea, in fact the opposite.
The Interplay of Empirical Evidence in Animal Consciousness
Scientific evidence plays a pivotal role in ascertaining the presence of consciousness in animals. Without traditional empirical evidence, theories of animal cognition and intelligence can easily slide into assumption territory.