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One of the most interesting lessons of Hauser's writing is the result of recent research that shows how the brain learns on its own, so to speak, prior to and without consciousness. Hauser's examples drawn from animal experiments are fascinating to contemplate, but he ultimately tells us that we can never really know what an animal thinks or feels. He ends by presenting solid arguments for animals, despite the appearance of altruistic behavior, not having any kind of moral sense.
In the end Hauser acknowledges that we can only seek to understand how an animal's mind functions as far as how it will behave. We will never know how it thinks or feels! Given this, we may wonder about the subtitle which seems to mislead in order to sell books. If you are interested in "what animals really think," you will not find it here. If you are interested in how animal brains function (including the human)in regard to their behavioral adaptations and limitations, as a result of their evolutionary heritage as geared to survival in their environment, you probably will find the book of some interest.
Hauser begins with an introductory chapter that presents his basic approach and cautions against anthropomorphisms.
Chapters two through four comprise a unit that focuses on those mental capacities shared by animals and human beings. Both can identify objects and predict their movement. Both can distinguish quantity. Both can navigate through space. Perhaps it takes a course in cognitive psychology to appreciate these commonalities, but I believe that Hauser does an excellent job of presenting research results for lay consumption. His presentation of animal and human infant studies of the expectancy-violation principle is alone worth the cost of the book.
The second section, chapters five through seven, focus on mental capacities which seem to be qualitatively common in animals and humans, but quantitatively distinct. Hauser presents a well-balanced account of the evidence for self-awareness, teaching, and deception among animals.
The final section contains two chapters on mental capacities that appear to be almost unique to human beings - language and morality. Hauser's careful review of animal communication is amazing, as is his locus of morality in the ability to inhibit selfish tendencies to maintain social conventions.
I recommend this book without reservation. No reader will regret spending time with this book. It is quite stimulating.