How Prejudice Affects the Study of Animal Minds by Ashley Elizabeth Keefner
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How Prejudice Affects the Study of Animal Minds by Ashley Elizabeth Keefner A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2017 © Ashley Elizabeth Keefner 2017 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. Supervisor Dr. Paul Thagard, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Waterloo Internal Member Dr. John Turri, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy & Cognitive Science, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo Internal Member Dr. Katy Fulfer, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo Internal-External Member Dr. Alice Kuzniar, University Research Chair, Professor of German and English, University of Waterloo External Examiner Dr. Andrew Fenton, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Dalhousie University ii Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract Humans share the planet with many wonderfully diverse animal species and human- animal interactions are part of our daily lives. An important part of understanding how humans do and should interact with other animals is understanding how humans think about other animals. In this thesis, I argue that how humans think about the minds of other animals is marked by prejudice and that this prejudice fosters epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical problems related to study of, the conception of, and the conclusions we draw about animal minds. I begin by examining conceptions and representations of animals in popular culture and arguing that they exhibit and foster a problematic prejudice, what I call “animal prejudice.” I then examine how this prejudice affects the general study of animal minds and argue that it leads to epistemological problems that interfere with the aims of science. After reviewing the effects of animal prejudice on the study of animal minds generally, I more closely examine the effects of animal prejudice on the scientific study of animal problem solving, learning, tool use, language, emotion, and empathy. In addition to identifying areas where animal prejudice is negatively affecting the study of animal minds, I also offer suggestions for avoiding and mitigating these effects. To conclude, I review the ethical implications of animal prejudice and its effects on the study of animal minds. Together, these chapters offer an important philosophical contribution to the understanding of animal minds and provide a basis for further discussion on how humans should interact with other animals. iv Acknowledgments I am so grateful to have been a graduate student at the University of Waterloo and to have had Dr. Paul Thagard as my supervisor. Dr. Thagard’s diverse expertise and academic guidance have been integral to my experience as a graduate student. I owe him my sincerest thanks for allowing me to pursue my interests freely, while also ensuring I pursued them constructively. I also owe many thanks to my thesis committee, whose comments and feedback have strengthened this thesis. I am especially grateful to Dr. John Turri, who has provided me with a wealth of academic and professional advice and a number of opportunities throughout my time at Waterloo. Thank you to Dr. Katy Fulfer for your constructive comments and for pointing me in the direction of great sources. Thank you to Dr. Andrew Fenton for contributing your time and knowledge to my project and for the great advocacy work you do. Thank you to Dr. Alice Kuzniar for introducing me to a different perspective from which to view animals and for the many stimulating conversations we have had. While at Waterloo, I have been fortunate to be part of an environment that promotes collaboration both within and across disciplines. Special thanks to Dr. Tim Kenyon, Dr. Doreen Fraser, and Dr. Shannon Dea for your contributions to my academic and professional growth. I could name my fellow graduate students one by one and list the ways in which they have enriched my experience at Waterloo and influenced me academically and personally. I am lucky to have been surrounded by so many inspiring individuals working on diverse and incredibly important issues. I am especially grateful to Ben Nelson, Jay Michaud, Sara Weaver, and Jim and Shelly Jordan for their friendship and moral support. Thank you to Paul Meyer for your excellent proofreading and loving encouragement. Thank you to my family for their unconditional love and support. And last, but certainly not least, thank you to Hua and Kevin, my tiny four-legged co-authors, who sat next to me (and sometimes on top of me) while I researched and wrote this thesis. v Dedicated to the wonderful animals who have enriched my life and taught me to be a better human. vi Table of Contents List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………….....ix List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………...x Chapter 1: Animal Prejudice 1.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...1 1.2. Views on Prejudice against Animals…………………………………………………6 1.3. Animal Stereotypes…………………………………………………………………...8 1.3.1. Animal Pejoratives………………………………………………………...10 1.3.2. Animal Tropes…………………………………………………………….12 1.4. The Harms of Stereotypes and Animal Prejudice…………………………………...16 1.5. The problem…………………………………………………………………………22 Chapter 2: The Effects of Animal Prejudice on Scientific Methodology 2.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….25 2.2. Animal Minds……………………………………………………………………….26 2.3. Designing Experiments……………………………………………………………...28 2.3.1. Generating New Experiments……………………………………………..29 2.3.2. Accounting for Important Differences ……………………………………31 2.4. Selecting Test Subjects……………………………………………………………...36 2.5. Interpreting Results………………………………………………………………….44 2.6. Scientific Values and Studying Animal Minds…………………………………...…51 2.7. Suggestions………………………………………………………………………….55 2.8. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..59 Chapter 3: The Effects of Animal Prejudice on the Study of Animal Problem Solving, Learning, Tool Use, and Language 3.1. Introduction to Intelligence………………………………………………………….62 3.2. Problem Solving…………………………………………………………………….64 3.3. Learning……………………………………………………………………………..72 3.4. Tool Use……………………………………………………………………………..81 3.5. Language…………………………………………………………………………….86 3.6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..91 Chapter 4: The Effects of Animal Prejudice on Animal Emotion and Empathy 4.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….93 4.2. The Nature of Emotion……………………………………………………………...94 4.3. Evidence for Emotion……………………………………………………………….98 4.3.1. Behavioural Evidence……………………………………………………..98 4.3.2. Physiological Evidence…………………………………………………..100 4.3.3. Neural Evidence………………………………………………………….101 4.4. Making Judgments about Emotion………………………………………………...102 4.4.1. Be Cautious of Anthropodenial not just Anthropomorphism……………103 4.4.2. Favour Studies with High Ecological Validity…………………………..106 vii Table of Contents 4.4.3. Respect Field Observations and Qualitative Data……………………….107 4.4.4. Respect Individual Differences…………………………………………..109 4.5. Animal Empathy…………………………………………………………………...111 4.5.1. The Nature of Empathy…………………………………………………..113 4.5.2. A Hybrid Theory of Empathy: Empathy as Analogy……………………115 4.5.3. Evidence for Animal Empathy…………………………………………...117 4.6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………120 Chapter 5: The Ethical Implications of Animal Prejudice 5.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………...123 5.2. Why Animal Prejudice Matters for Animal Ethics………………………………...124 5.3. A Possible Argument for Narrowing the Scope in Animal Mind Studies…………128 5.4. Justifying Experimental Paradigms………………………………………………..130 5.5. Underestimations vs. Overestimations……………………………………………..133 5.6. The Cognitive Welfare of Animals………………………………………………...136 5.7. Conclusion and Going Forward……………………………………………………139 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………141 viii List of Figures Figure 1.1………………………………………………………………………………………...19 Figure 1.2………………………………………………………………………………………...19 Figure 1.3………………………………………………………………………………………...20 Figure 2.1……………………………………………………………………………………...…38 Figure 2.2………………………………………………………………………………………...39 Figure 2.3………………………………………………………………………………………...43 ix List of Tables Table 1.1…………………………………………………………………………………………11 Table 1.2……………………………………………………………………………………...13-14 Table 1.3…………………………………………………………………………………………15 Table 2.1…………………………………………………………………………………………52 Table 3.1…………………………………………………………………………………………65 Table 3.2…………………………………………………………………………………………74 Table 3.3…………………………………………………………………………………………82 Table 3.4…………………………………………………………………………………………87 Table 4.1…………………………………………………………………………………………96 Table 4.2…………………………………………………………………………………………99 Table 4.3………………………………………………………………………………………..101 Table 4.4………………………………………………………………………………………..102 Table 4.5………………………………………………………………………………………..114 Table 5.1………………………………………………………………………………………..125 Table 5.2………………………………………………………………………………………..125 Table 5.3………………………………………………………………………………………..127 Table 5.4………………………………………………………………………………………..135 x Chapter 1: Animal Prejudice 1.1. Introduction There are an estimated 8 million animal species on Earth, of which humans are just one (Mora, Tittensor, Adl, Simpson, & Worm, 2011; Mora C. T., 2011)). While humans are members of the animal kingdom, we