Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures | Virginia Morell
Did you know that dolphins are self-aware, rats love to be tickled, chimps grieve, killer whales have cultures and octopuses have personalities? Did you know that dogs have extensive vocabularies and birds practice songs in their sleep? Animal Wise takes us on a dazzling exploration into the minds and emotions of animals, through the unusual and committed researchers who study them. Looking at insects, parrots, crows, blue jays, fish, rats, elephants, dolphins, chimpanzees, wolves and dogs, Morell examines the amazing inroads made in the field of animal cognition; the unique personalities of the pioneering researchers involved; the moral and ethical issues raised; and the dilemmas involving how we can accurately uncover animals’ cognitive abilities like memory, feelings, personality and self-awareness – traits that many in the 20th century felt were unique only to humans. By standing behaviourism on its head, Morell brings the world of nature brilliantly alive in a nuanced, deeply-felt appreciation of the human–animal bond.
Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures |