Treves et al. are right about the need for morally just preservation of nonhumans. Their suggestions can move us in that direction. But isn't what only humans are capable of doing in analyzing and solving these problems, in its broadest sense, "anthropocentrism"?
The present article examines a concern I have had for some time about the compatibility of humanistic psychology with the emerging animal rights movement. Beyond working out my position, the paper has the additional educational and, frankly, political purpose of bringing animal rights issues to the attention of humanistic psychologists. The article applies certain concepts of contemporary animal rights philosophy, notably "speciesism," to both the philosophy of humanism and humanistic psychology. While on a philosophical level, certain concepts are discussed that would likely block a rapprochement, I feel that humanistic psychologists as individuals are likely to extend their compassion to nonhuman animals. A review of philosophical humanism reveals that its important concept of individuality excludes nonhuman animals. Within this conception, animals simply are not individuals. In fact, animals are employed as a categorical foil representing precisely the absence of reason and relative autonomy, hallmarks of individuality. In humanistic psychology, the concept of self actualization is open to similar charges. A compatability and, hence a reconciliation, is suggested through a phenomenological rendering of empathy, a second concept critical to humanistic psychology.
I agree with Marino (2017a,b) that the cognitive capacities of chickens are likely to be the same as those of many others vertebrates. Also, data collected in the young of this precocial species provide rich information about how much cognition can be pre-wired and predisposed in the brain. However, evidence of advanced cognition — in chickens or any other organism — says little about sentience (i.e., feeling). We do not deny sentience in human beings who, because of cognitive deficits, would be incapable of exhibiting some of the cognitive feats of chickens. Moreover, complex problem solving, such as transitive inference, which has been reported in chickens, can be observed even in the absence of any accompanying conscious experience in humans.
Baker & Winkler (2020) provide a detailed examination of elephants in captivity, from an historical perspective to modern-day concerns. Concerns include the poor level of mahout skills and subsequent captive elephant welfare issues in the Thai elephant tourism industry. Rewilding is proposed as a method of rehabilitation and a way to include mahouts in the conservation process. This commentary argues that the tourism industry is making positive changes and mahout skills can be utilised successfully without the arduous task of rewilding. Animal rights groups and the transfer of misinformation surrounding captive elephant welfare are also examined, as these typically fail to acknowledge the socio-economic and geopolitical complexities of elephant conservation in the least developed and developing nations.
Abstract The paper is a critical investigation of the linguist James Hurford's bold proposal that animal cognition conforms to basic logical structure – particularly striking in the ventral-dorsal split of visual perception. The overall argument is that dorsal processing of visual information isolates the subject of a simple, perceptual proposition, while ventral processing addresses the corresponding predicate aspect – the two indicating and categorizing the object of perception, respectively. The paper investigates some of the problems in Hurford's interpretation – particularly his refusal of animal proto-language to have anything corresponding to constants or proper names and his idea that all such propositions must be monovalent only (and thus not addressing relations). As an alternative to Hurford's psychological interpretation of Frege for his logical basis, Peirce's theory of propositions – so-called "Dicisigns" – is proposed.
This essay is part of a larger work in progress on language, culture, and thought as related to Chicano experience and identity. My aim here is twofold: first to explain how I got the written version of the "Corrido Del Dia 1Q de Mayo" ("May Day Corrido-Song"), a corrido about a political event in rural Chihuahua, Mexico, and then to interpret the corrido using data gathered through open interviews I conducted with two informants while I was investigating my own history.
Chapman & Huffman have highlighted observations of animals performing, in nature, complex behaviour once thought to be unique to humans. Just as relevant to their argument are examples of cognition shown by domesticated species tested in controlled conditions. These strengthen the case for human/nonhuman similarities in behaviour and cognition. Recent research has brought to our attention the ability of nonhuman species to perform many tasks previously considered to be the hallmark of humans. Even though different species may use different ways of solving these tasks, the very fact that they can do it undermines the notion of human superiority.
Increasing public understanding of the complexity of wild ungulates can improve animal welfare and advance global conservation efforts of these keystone species. Unfortunately, shaping public opinion on wild species is challenging because personal experience with wildlife is declining, popular education is still biased towards the predator instead of the prey, and scientific research is more difficult to conduct on wild ungulates compared to those on farms, in zoos, or otherwise in captivity. Nevertheless, studies of cognition, individuality, and intelligence of wild ungulates are increasing. I briefly highlight some major results from my own work on complexity in wild elk, illustrating how such studies can help management and conservation, in addition to improve our understanding of how ungulates are more similar to humans than previously thought. I argue that ultimately the greatest challenge may not be in expanding our academic knowledge of complexity in wild and captive ungulates, but in using that knowledge to inform those best positioned to take meaningful action to improve animal welfare and implement wildlife conservation strategies.
This study examines in its context one variant of the Spanish romance of Delgadina transmuted into a Mexican corrido. Acknowledging the studies by Beatriz Mariscal and the feminist interpretations of Maria Henera-Sobek, this study is a departure from past critical work in that it attempts to examine the cognitive effect on both singers and listeners of the modern corrido form and the continuity of the tale and the theme of incest. Memory systems generated through popular song are examined as they relate to Delgadina's purpose as a tale, in terms of its social and moral message and impact. Interviews were conducted with one corridista (popular song writer), and several respondents familiar with the song on both sides of the border (Mexico's northern region of Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas), and their discourse analyzed in order to illuminate the continuity and variants of the folk song Delgadina and its social and political implications.
Different professional domains require high levels of physical performance alongside fast and accurate decision-making. Construction workers, police officers, firefighters, elite sports men and women, the military and emergency medical professionals are often exposed to hostile environments with limited options for behavioural coping strategies. In this (mini) review we use football refereeing as an example to discuss the combined effect of intense physical activity and extreme temperatures on decision-making and suggest an explicative model. In professional football competitions can be played in temperatures ranging from -5oC in Norway to 30oC in Spain for example. Despite these conditions, the referee's responsibility is to consistently apply the laws fairly and uniformly, and to ensure the rules are followed without waning or adversely influencing the competitiveness of the play. However, strenuous exercise in extreme environments imposes increased physiological and psychological stress that can affect decision-making. Therefore, the physical exertion required to follow the game and the thermal strain from the extreme temperatures may hinder the ability of referees to make fast and accurate decisions. Here we review literature on the physical and cognitive requirements of football refereeing and how extreme temperatures may affect referees' decisions. Research suggests that both hot and cold environments have a negative impact on decision-making but data specific to decision-making is still lacking. A theoretical model of decision-making under the constraint of intense physical activity and thermal stress is suggested. Future naturalistic studies are needed to validate this model and provide clear recommendations for mitigating strategies.
Introduction1. The Nature of Innateness2. Defending the Concept of Innateness3. Concepts4. Modules, Core Cognition and Culture5. The Theory Theory and the Theory of Mind6. Mathematical Cognition and Quinian Bootstrapping7. Language Acquisition and Linguistic Nativism8. The Challenge to Linguistic Nativism9. Morality and Innateness10. Moral Convictions and Mechanisms11. Conclusion.ReferencesIndex
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