Species of Mind

The Philosophy and Biology of Cognitive Ethology

Colin Allen (Indiana University), Marc Bekoff

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English

MIT Press
26 July 1999

Philosophy of mind; Cognition & cognitive psychology; Animal behaviour

Series: A Bradford Book

The heart of this book is the reciprocal relationship between philosophical theories of mind and empirical studies of animal cognition.

Colin Allen (a philosopher) and Marc Bekoff (a cognitive ethologist) approach their work from a perspective that considers arguments about evolutionary continuity to be as applicable to the study of animal minds and brains as they are to comparative studies of kidneys, stomachs, and hearts. Cognitive ethologists study the comparative, evolutionary, and ecological aspects of the mental phenomena of animals. Philosophy can provide cognitive ethology with an analytical basis for attributing cognition to nonhuman animals and for studying it, and cognitive ethology can help philosophy to explain mentality in naturalistic terms by providing data on the evolution of cognition. This interdiscipinary approach reveals flaws in common objections to the view that animals have minds.

The heart of the book is this reciprocal relationship between philosophical theories of mind and empirical studies of animal cognition. All theoretical discussion is carefully tied to case studies, particularly in the areas of antipredatory vigilance and social play, where there are many points of contact with philosophical discussions of intentionality and representation. Allen and Bekoff make specific suggestions about how to use philosophical theories of intentionality as starting points for empirical investigation of animal minds, and they stress the importance of studying animals other than nonhuman primates.

By: Colin Allen (Indiana University), Marc Bekoff
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 226mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 386g
ISBN: 9780262511087
ISBN 10: 0262511088
Series: A Bradford Book
Pages: 231
Publication Date: 26 July 1999
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Colin Allen is Professor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University. He is the coauthor of Nature's Purposes (MIT Press, 1998), Species of Mind (MIT Press, 1997), and The Cognitive Animal (MIT Press, 2001). Marc Bekoff is Professor of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Reviews for Species of Mind: The Philosophy and Biology of Cognitive Ethology

"""No one has ever contemplated what it is like to be a zucchini becausezucchini's lack minds. But we certainly have wondered what it is like tobe a predatory lion, or an echolocating bat or a brachiating monkey. Thatis because such animals presumably do have minds. But what kind of minds?Allen and Bekoff morph the disciplines of philosophy and ethology toprovide a lucid analysis of how animals think and what they think about.If you want a fun romp on the wild side of animal minds, read this book."" Marc Hauser , Associate Professor, Departments of Anthropology andPsychology, Program in Neurosciences, Harvard University"