Humans have been studying the behavior of animals for centuries. Ethology, which is the science that studies the behavior of animals, demands, among other objectives, to solve the mystery "Do animals think?".
Since we have made intelligence one of the "keys" to distinguish ourselves from animals.
If we want to reach a conclusion on the question of whether animals think or not, the first step is to define what is meant by "thinking". Thinking' comes from the Latin 'thinking' and had the meaning of weighing, calculating or reflecting.
All these actions immediately bring to mind another concept from which it is not possible to separate thought and which is nothing more than "intelligence". This term can be defined as the faculty of the mind that allows one to learn, understand, reason, make decisions and create an opinion. Determining which animal species can be considered intelligent has been the subject of constant studies over time.
Considering the definition given, practically all animals could be considered intelligent, because they can learn and, in other words, adapt to the environment. Intelligence is not just about solving mathematical problems! Other meanings, on the other hand, refer to the ability to use a tool, to create culture, to pass on knowledge from parent to child or, simply, to appreciate the beauty of a work of art or a sunset. Moreover, the ability to communicate through language, whether through signs or symbols, is considered an intelligent behavior. As we can see, the meaning of intelligence depends on what perspective the scholar looks at it.
And this is due to the fact that by self-denominating ourselves as Homo sapiens, we are making a difference between our species and the rest, which in a sense, legitimizes us to exploit other animals and consider them inferior.
Therefore, one cannot lose sight of ethics in the study of this issue. It is also important that we refer to the science that studies the behavior of animals by its name: ethology.
Studies always have an anthropocentric prejudice being carried out by human beings, who are also those who interpret the results from their point of view (and way of conceiving the world), which is not the animal in which they predominate, for example, smell and hearing.
Surveys continue and new data are collected each time. For example, in the light of the discoveries made in the Great Ape Project, it is required that these primates obtain the rights that correspond to them since they are hominids.
Do animals think or act instinctively?
Given the definition of "thinking," to answer this question, it is necessary to determine the meaning of the term "instinct. This concept alludes to innate behavior, therefore not learned, but genetically transmitted. Therefore, all animals of the same species will respond equally to a specific stimulus. Instincts are given in animals, but also in humans.
The studies proposed with the aim of resolving the question of whether animals think have generally considered that mammals outperform reptiles, amphibians or fish in intelligence which in turn outperform birds. Elephants and dolphins are distinguished by being the most intelligent. The octopus is considered to have considerable intelligence and is an exception to this maximum.
Within the studies on animal intelligence, the question of whether or not they have the capacity to reason has also been evaluated. "Reasoning" can be defined as the establishment of a relationship between different ideas or concepts to draw conclusions or form a judgment. Following this description of the concept, we can consider that animals reason, because it has been recorded that some are able to use elements to solve a problem that is presented to them without resorting to trial-and-error.
Do animals think and feel pain?
Do the data presented so far allow us to accept the idea that animals think but feel pain? First, we can highlight the ability to experience physical pain. It has been established that animals with a nervous system experience pain similar to that experienced by humans.
But the doubt is also whether they suffer psychologically. The fact that they feel stress, which can be measured objectively by the hormones that are segregated from the individual, seems to be affirmative. The depression that is observed in animals or that some die after being abandoned, without any kind of apparent physical cause, would also confirm this hypothesis. Once again, the results of the studies imply an ethical question that should make us reflect on our behavior towards the animals of the Planet.