Animals Can Learn What Death Is. But They Will Understand It Differently From Us
Philosopher Susana Monsó: Many of us have watched a cat torment a mouse without killing it. The killing bite is distinctly different from that cruel play. This is evidence of cognitive control over behavior. The cat chooses when it kills.
By Maria Hawranek and Susana Monsó
Maria Hawranek: Is the view that animals possess minds still controversial among researchers?
Susana Monsó: Among comparative psychologists, no — animal minds are the subject of our research, and we agree that animals have beliefs and desires that guide their behavior. Controversy is more likely to arise around the question of whether they have consciousness. In the history of philosophy, however, which takes a very intellectualist view of what it means to have beliefs or desires, there have been many who consistently defended the idea that animals have no minds at all.
