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Intelligence of Apes and Other Rational Beings

Online ISBN:
9780300129359
Print ISBN:
9780300099836
Publisher:
Yale University Press
Book

Intelligence of Apes and Other Rational Beings

Published online:
31 October 2013
Published in print:
11 August 2003
Online ISBN:
9780300129359
Print ISBN:
9780300099836
Publisher:
Yale University Press

Abstract

What is animal intelligence? In what ways is it similar to human intelligence? Many behavioral scientists have realized that animals can be rational, can think in abstract symbols, can understand and react to human speech, and can learn through observation as well as conditioning many of the more complicated skills of life. This book explores the mysteries of the animal mind even further, identifying an advanced level of animal behavior—emergents—that reflects animals' natural and active inclination to make sense of the world. The authors unify all behavior into a framework they call Rational Behaviorism and present it as a new way to understand learning, intelligence, and rational behavior in both animals and humans. Drawing on years of research on issues of complex learning and intelligence in primates (notably rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees, and bonobos), the authors provide examples of animal ingenuity and persistence, showing that animals are capable of very creative solutions to novel challenges. They analyze learning processes and research methods, discuss the meaningful differences across the primate order, and point the way to further advances, enlivening theoretical material about primates with stories about their behavior and achievements.

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