TITLE:
Understanding the Concept of Human Superiority: An Exploration of the Theory of Mind in Non-Human Species
AUTHORS:
Pooja Karan
KEYWORDS:
Theory of Mind, Phylogenetics, False-Belief Tests, Social Cues, Mental States, Evolution, Anthropocentrism
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Anthropology,
Vol.13 No.4,
November
20,
2023
ABSTRACT: The theory of mind is the ability for an organism to
understand the mental state of other beings, and attribute and predict their
behaviors based on this understanding. While humans demonstrate the innate
mental content of a theory of mind, understanding whether or not other
organisms have a theory of mind is more difficult, especially
because it is viewed from a human-centric lens, leading people to wonder about
other animals. This therefore begs the question: do non-human animals have the
innate mental content of the theory of mind? This question can be explored
through the perspective of high-intelligence non-human animals—primates,
corvids, and canines—by comparing them to humans, in order to determine if
there is a phylogenetic closeness to humans and the capacity to have a theory
of mind in other animals. Considering this purpose, by comparing the cognitive
ability of non-human and human animals in regard to a theory of mind, the
possibility for a shared capacity to understand another animal’s mind is better
understood.