The CEU Department of Philosophy cordially invites you to a talk
(as part of its Departmental Colloquium series)
by
Albert Newen (Ruhr-Universität
on
Animal Cognition: Is there a feature that marks an anthropological borderline?
Tuesday, 11 October, 2011, 4.30 PM, Zrinyi 14, Room 412
ABSTRACT
In the last two decades we have witnessed the emergence of radically new insights concerning the cognitive abilities of animals. Considering some new insights especially in birds, dogs and monkeys, I am discussing the recent candidates for an anthropological borderline between human and nonhuman animals. It is argued by induction on the basis of significant
examples that for all features (as candidates for an anthropological borderline) we find astonishing roots in nonhuman animals. If we account for the top-level abilities of the most advanced nonhuman species (including systematic training of the animals) the suggested borderline tends to be uninterestingly high because it excludes human children up to a certain age who are still lacking these abilities. If we account for a gradual and species-specific development of cognition in evolution
and ontogeny (even with significant small steps), the best we can do to compare species is to develop species-specific profiles concerning relevant cognitive abilities. Comparing species would then take place by comparing these profiles while we should give up the idea that any one of the cognitive features alone would allow us to mark an anthropological borderline.