Review of 'Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Once again Frans de Waal takes us through a journey into the realm of animals’ behavior. Combining his thorough experience with primates and his deep theoretical knowledge of animal cognition, this book provides a much needed and profound analysis of the field of ethology.
Starting with an almost too simple of question (that of the title), de Waal shows us that for a long time animal studies didn’t, or couldn’t pay enough regard to animal intelligence, for reasons that range from the fears of falling into an unscientific anthropomorphism to the basic psychological bias of wanting to preserve human exceptionalism.
As we follow his narrative, we embark on a history of ethology, its problems, its setbacks, its successes and even what may lie ahead for this field of study. As it is usual with his other books, de Waal provides ample examples of observations, experiments, field studies and many anecdotes …
Once again Frans de Waal takes us through a journey into the realm of animals’ behavior. Combining his thorough experience with primates and his deep theoretical knowledge of animal cognition, this book provides a much needed and profound analysis of the field of ethology.
Starting with an almost too simple of question (that of the title), de Waal shows us that for a long time animal studies didn’t, or couldn’t pay enough regard to animal intelligence, for reasons that range from the fears of falling into an unscientific anthropomorphism to the basic psychological bias of wanting to preserve human exceptionalism.
As we follow his narrative, we embark on a history of ethology, its problems, its setbacks, its successes and even what may lie ahead for this field of study. As it is usual with his other books, de Waal provides ample examples of observations, experiments, field studies and many anecdotes that not only make his case stronger, but also give us a glimpse of what an animal Umwelt (inner world) may look like.
This is a book for animal lovers; but this is also a book for those who “patronize [animals] for their incompleteness” (BESTON, 1928). On an era where ecological disaster looms, this, thus, is one of those books to read. Only by understanding animals and their worlds can we give the long due respect nature deserves