Publisher Description

This volume is a collection of fourteen essays by leading philosophers on issues concerning the nature, existence, and our knowledge of animal minds. The nature of animal minds has been a topic of interest to philosophers since the origins of philosophy, and recent years have seen significant philosophical engagement with the subject. However, there is no volume that represents the current state of play in this important and growing field. The purpose of this volume is to highlight the state of the debate. The issues which are covered include whether and to what degree animals think in a language or in iconic structures, possess concepts, are conscious, self-aware, metacognize, attribute states of mind to others, and have emotions, as well as issues pertaining to our knowledge of and the scientific standards for attributing mental states to animals.

Author Biography

Robert W. Lurz is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York.

Table of Contents

Philosophy of animal minds: an introduction Robert W. Lurz; 1. What do animals think? Dale Jamieson; 2. Attributing mental representations to animals Eric Saidel; 3. Chrysippus's dog as a case study in non-linguistic cognition Michael Rescorla; 4. Systematicity and intentional realism in honeybee navigation Michael Tetzlaff and Georges Rey; 5. Invertebrate concepts confront the generality constraint (and win) Peter Carruthers; 6. A language of baboon thought? Elisabeth Camp; 7. Animal communication and neo-expressivism Andrew McAninch, Grant Goodrich and Colin Allen; 8. Mindreading in the animal kingdom? José Bermúdez; 9. The representational basis of brute metacognition: a proposal Joëlle Proust; 10. Animals, consciousness, and I-thoughts Rocco J. Gennaro; 11. Self-awareness in animals David DeGrazia; 12. The sophistication of non-human emotion Robert C. Roberts; 13. Parsimony and models of animal minds Elliott Sober; 14. The primate mind-reading controversy: a case study in simplicity and methodology in animal psychology Simon Fitzpatrick; Glossary of key terms; References; Index.

Review

'… a highly stimulating collection of papers which considerably advances the philosophy of animal minds. It will be of interest both within the borders of philosophy of mind and in the rapidly expanding scientific disciplines involved with animal thought and feeling.' Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Promotional

Do animals think? Are they self-aware? Do they have emotions? This book explores the philosophical issues concerning animal minds.

Review Quote

"...this is a highly stimulating collection of papers which considerably advances the philosophy of animal minds. It will be of interest both within the borders of philosophy of mind and in the rapidly expanding scientific disciplines involved with animal thought and feeling." --William Seager, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Promotional "Headline"

Do animals think? Are they self-aware? Do they have emotions? This book explores the philosophical issues concerning animal minds.

Description for Bookstore

Do animals think? Are they self-aware? Do they have emotions? This collection of fourteen essays examines issues concerning the nature, existence, and our knowledge of animal minds. Topics covered include whether and to what degree animals think, reason, are conscious, self-aware, and aware of other animals' minds.

Description for Library

Do animals think? Are they self-aware? Do they have emotions? This collection of fourteen essays examines issues concerning the nature, existence, and our knowledge of animal minds. Topics covered include whether and to what degree animals think, reason, are conscious, self-aware, and aware of other animals' minds.

Details