John Kennedy's thesis is that anthropomorphism is not necessarily dead, but is lurking under different disguises. In fact, it still affects research, but is often unintended and therefore it goes unrecognized. He provides ample documentary evidence of the way researchers unconsciously slip into anthropomorphism. The book contains nineteen essays on behavioral concepts that have seldom been identified as anthropomorphic, but in fact bear that connotation and lead to mistakes. Some of these, such as search images in birds and the learning of grammatical language by apes, have been seen as errors after a time. A greater number, such as efference copy, goal-directedness, cognition, and suffering in animals, are still current though not yet regarded as erroneous. We can hardly hope to cure ourselves altogether of thinking anthropomorphically, and it can be very useful as a metaphor. The final chapter outlines things we can do to minimize the damage anthropomorphism does to the casual analysis of animal behavior.
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"...short, provocative, readable...." Mark Ridley, Nature
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a must read for behavioral neuroscientists,
By DMatters (PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The New Anthropomorphism (Paperback)
Kennedy does a good job of explaining the evolution of anthropomorhism, and shares his opinions in an objective manner. With a hint of humor, he makes the book very readable, and gives much food for thought. This was "leant" to me by a colleague and I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Anyone who uses animal models to investigate behavior needs to be reminded that we have no proof that animals feel depression, etc, though we have a natural tendancy to perceive animal behaviors as indicative of emotions that we feel.
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People have always been very ready to believe that animals are like us in having feelings and purposes and acting upon them. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mock anthropomorphism, unwitting anthropomorphism, animal cognitivists, original grand theory, explicit anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic bias, radical behaviourists, radical behaviourism, optomotor responses, causal hierarchy, stimulus enhancement, teleological language, anthropomorphic language, efference copy, teleological thinking, animal behaviour, behavioural level, cognitive ethology, behavioural ecology, final common path, behavioural systems, animal consciousness Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
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People have always been very ready to believe that animals are like us in having feelings and purposes and acting upon them. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mock anthropomorphism, unwitting anthropomorphism, animal cognitivists, original grand theory, explicit anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic bias, radical behaviourists, radical behaviourism, optomotor responses, causal hierarchy, stimulus enhancement, teleological language, anthropomorphic language, efference copy, teleological thinking, animal behaviour, behavioural level, cognitive ethology, behavioural ecology, final common path, behavioural systems, animal consciousness Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Clever Hans New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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This book cites 3
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39
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- The Inner Eye: Social Intelligence in Evolution by Nicholas Humphrey on page 19
- Motivational Systems (Problems in the Behavioural Sciences) by Frederick M. Toates on page 102
- Animal Behaviour: Psychobiology, Ethology and Evolution (3rd Edition) by David McFarland on page 61
- Thinking with Animals: New Perspectives on Anthropomorphism by Lorraine Daston on 5 pages
- Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy by Matthew Scully on 4 pages
- Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy by Matthew Scully on 4 pages
- When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson on 4 pages
- Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved (Princeton Science Library) by Frans de Waal on page 64, and Back Matter
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