Inside the minds of animals

Which of the following criteria did Aristotle and Descartes use to distinguish animals from humans?

• Instinct

• Intelligence

• Tool use

• A & B

• B & C

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution allowed for what insight into the question of animal intelligence?

• Human and nonhuman animals solve problems very differently

• Human and nonhuman animals probably think more similarly than differently

• Only humans can remember and learn

• Nonhuman animals are driven solely by their instincts

From a behaviorist perspective, which of the following would seem to be true?

• What we think of as "intelligence" is probably better understood as a response to an external stimulus

• Many human behaviors might simply be the result of responses to stimuli

• Nonhuman animal intelligence might be an illusion

• It is difficult to prove that nonhuman animals "think"

• All of the above

Consciousness--the ability to reflect on or experience one's own actions--is sometimes called the "hard problem" among philosophers of mind. Why is the "hard problem" so hard?

• Because we can't observe what is like to experience the world from the perspective of a nonhuman being

• Because nonhuman animals don't feel anything

• Because the ability to reflect on one's actions is limited to humans

• Because only parrots and horses have learned to communicate their thoughts to humans

• Because consciousness comes only in one form

Which of the following types of nonhuman animal demonstrates evidence of thinking?

• Octopus

• Bee

• Crow

• Dog

• All of the above

Do you think it is possible to know the mind of another animal?

• Yes, it is

• No, it isn't

What criteria would you suggest for understanding how another animal thinks?