Imitation, deception, jealousy, anger, revenge, etc., are animal instincts, or are they actions after repeated thinking? How much do we know about animal thinking?
Sichuan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey Photography / Ding Kuanliang
What is the reason why domestic swallows will live in two places, foxes will educate their children, beavers will build houses, and ants will enslave and domesticate useful animals? Answer: Animal instincts.
So, is animal imitation, deception, jealousy, anger, revenge, etc., also instinctive? Are these skills innate to animals, or are they learned by imitation, or are they adopted after repeated thinking? How much do we know about the thinking that governs animal behavior?
Cheat, steal, rob
Animal instincts
Some birds pretend to be injured and fall to the ground when the snake approaches the nest of its young birds, and not only the snakes are deceived, but even humans are difficult to distinguish between true and false, which is really amazing! When touched, the little beetle will also pretend to be dead to confuse the enemy. The mimicry of insects is always exquisite, and even fish are hunted by deception or camouflage. Obviously, deception is an important means for animals in the struggle for survival.
Realistic mimesis of the orchid praying mantis Photography / Luo Aidong
When the Yang Erwei boat moth encounters an enemy, it will expose the eye spots on its chest and shake the two red tubes protruding from the tail to intimidate the enemy. Photography / Tang Zhiyuan
Animals are not only good at deception, but also not amateurish in robbery and theft. In stark contrast to stealing is altruism in animals. But both egoism and altruism are only an objective effect, not caused by "thinking"; both are nothing more than animal instincts.
Instinct is an impulse and reflex. Animal instincts are innate, and this instinct is a reflection of external conditions of life, without psychological motivation.
The development of wisdom changes instincts in some way. For example, cannibalism in insects is sometimes seen, but this is extremely rare in mammals. Not eating the same kind may be the beneficial instinct that mammals have acquired in evolution.
Personality, emotion, aesthetics
It is related to intelligence and thinking
White-tailed Seabird Photography / Chai Jianghui
Does an animal have a personality? One can get a definitive answer from observing the pets that are kept.
Some European scientists have found through experiments with certain behaviors that some birds are bold and some are shy. Further reproductive tests also revealed that these personality traits have a strong genetic basis. It only takes four generations for scientists to successfully breed birds that are extremely bold or extremely shy.
Do animals have emotions? The answer should also be yes. Animals will show emotions such as love, friendliness, anger, and hostility. Some of the more advanced mammals also have expressions of happiness, fear, jealousy, revenge, and loyalty. Elephants and apes often have a strong memory of emotions.
But deeper thinking, such as regret, shame, compassion, pity, etc., is only available to humans. It should be said that "emotion" is also a kind of "thinking", even if it is primary and simple.
Do animals love beauty and understand aesthetics? The answer should also be yes. It's just that different animals have different standards for aesthetics.
Black-necked pheasant Photography / Birdnet Li Kui
The level of intelligence is a product of evolution. It is generally believed that there is a significant relationship between intelligence and brain capacity, especially the ratio of brain volume to body mass, but this is not always the case.
Imprinting and imitation
Learning is passed down from generation to generation
According to research, the "cultural" behavior of animals is not inherited, but is only passed on from parent to offspring through imprinting and imitation. Imprints are a learning ability unique to young animals, that is, the memory of their surroundings. This memory can have an impact on their adult life, especially reproductive behavior. For example, the red-bellied grey finch chicks are placed in the nest of their adoptive parents and raised under their care, and their calls are exactly the same as those of the canary, but the cries of the red-bellied grey finch are neither nor ignored.
Equally important after the imprint is imitation. Wild animals will follow the fixed places and routes of the previous generation in foraging, migrating, courtship and other behaviors, and will be passed on from generation to generation. In different populations of the same species, the imitation may not be exactly the same.
Many of the behaviors of animals are imitated. Apes are known for their acumenism.
Yunnan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey Mother and Children Photo / Yu Fengqin
From imitation to addiction
What physiological basis is needed?
Mammals and humans have a lot in common. Humans smoke, drink, and even become addicted, and the mammals they raise are much the same. There is a chimpanzee named "Fili" at the Zhengzhou Zoo in China who not only smokes, but also selects high-grade Chinese brand cigarettes from the butts of the Ximei and Zhonghua brands.
There is a female chimpanzee in Qinling Wildlife Park called "Ai Ai", and after the death of her first husband, she was depressed and quickly became addicted to smoking through imitation. When its second husband died and the two children were not around (one died, the other left), the addiction became severe.
Mammals may all have a physiological basis for "addiction" similar to that of humans.
Deep thinking
Has it nothing to do with animals?
Chimpanzees in Côte d'Ivoire-Guinea, Africa, send the remains of their companions to the primeval forests of the deceased's homeland, which some call the "funeral culture" of "falling leaves to the roots".
Apes have very high intellectual performance. Many chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and capuchin monkeys in captivity can paint and are even fascinated.
A young orangutan jumped on its mother, hoping to play together, but the mother ignored it and continued to fall asleep. Photography / Sun Xin
Animals, however, have no deep thinking. As the famous philosopher Wittgenstein pointed out, a dog will be afraid of its owner hitting it, but it will not be afraid of its owner hitting it tomorrow. Some well-trained chimpanzees are able to learn hundreds of English words and basic syntax, and are able to express themselves in gestures: "Mary gives me apples" and "I like Mary." But no chimpanzee has been able to combine these two sentences into a more complex statement: "Mary gave me apples, so I like her." In other words, chimpanzees do not have the ability to master real language and do not have true self-awareness.
Mammals and humans have many similarities and differences, but the most important difference is the level of intelligence. Man is the "spirit of all things", and the spirit has wisdom, deep thinking, and acquired instincts developed through practice. Animals will use simple tools and even make simple tools, while humans will use complex tools, will make complex tools, and even make more complex tools with complex tools that they process themselves.
Today we still know very little about animal thinking, and there are many phenomena that are difficult to explain rationally, but the simple, natural instincts of animals still give us many useful lessons.
This article is an excerpt from Forest and Humanity, No. 9, 2013
Author: Chen Xinqi Yu Hong
Editor: Liu Xia
Source: Nature Super Talk