Lecture -- ANIMAL COGNTTLO小 第十一讲动物认知
Lecture 11 ANIMAL COGNITION 第十一讲 动物认知
at is Animal Cognition? Animal cognition is the study of the processes used to generate adaptive or flexible behavior in animal species. In the context of anima cognition research, cognition usually refers to the cognitive mechanisms involved in learning memory perception and decision-making. As a part of cognitive science, research in animal cognition aims to uncover the different cognitive mechanisms at play across species with the purpose of understanding the varieties of cognition, the similarities between humans and other species, and the evolution and function of cognitive processes
What is Animal Cognition? Animal cognition is the study of the processes used to generate adaptive or flexible behavior in animal species. In the context of animal cognition research, cognition usually refers to the cognitive mechanisms involved in learning, memory, perception, and decision-making. As a part of cognitive science, research in animal cognition aims to uncover the different cognitive mechanisms at play across species, with the purpose of understanding the varieties of cognition, the similarities between humans and other species, and the evolution and function of cognitive processes
The background assumption for much animal cognition research The computational theory of mind, Is cognition a general purpose computational system? Or is cognition modular?(cognition must be thought of as a bundle of special- purpose computational modules rather than one general purpose processor)
The background assumption for much animal cognition research The computational theory of mind. Is cognition a general purpose computational system? Or is cognition modular? (cognition must be thought of as a bundle of specialpurpose computational modules rather than one general purpose processor)
小 ina minds from the historica」 perspective Aristotle: defined human"as the rational animal thus rejecting the possibility that any other species is rational Aquinas: believed that animals are irrational because they are not free Descartes: defended a distinction between humans and animals based on the belief that language is a necessary condition for mind on his view animals are soulless machines Kant: concluded that since they cannot think about themselves animals are not rational agents and hence they only have instrumental value
Animal Minds from the historical perspective : Aristotle: defined “human” as “the rational animal”, thus rejecting the possibility that any other species is rational. Aquinas: believed that animals are irrational because they are not free. Descartes: defended a distinction between humans and animals based on the belief that language is a necessary condition for mind; on his view animals are soulless machines. Kant: concluded that since they cannot think about themselves, animals are not rational agents and hence they only have instrumental value
Animal minds fron the historical perspective Voltaire: criticized descartes view that humans but not animals have souls and hence minds, by suggesting that there is no evidence for the claim Hume: was downright dismissive of the animal mind skeptics when he wrote Next to the ridicule of denying an evident truth, is that of taking much pains to defend it and no truth appears to me more evident than that beasts are endowed with thought and reason as well as man The arguments are in this case so obvious, that they never escape the most stupid and ignorant
Animal Minds from the historical perspective : Voltaire: criticized Descartes' view that humans but not animals have souls and hence minds, by suggesting that there is no evidence for the claim. Hume: was downright dismissive of the animal mind skeptics when he wrote “Next to the ridicule of denying an evident truth, is that of taking much pains to defend it; and no truth appears to me more evident than that beasts are endowed with thought and reason as well as man. The arguments are in this case so obvious, that they never escape the most stupid and ignorant