Animal Minds

Vervet monkeys use special calls to mislead their neighbors. Beavers plug up leaks in dams, cutting pieces of wood to fit a particular hole. Honeybees employ symbolic gestures to communicate the direction and distance their sisters must fly to reach food. These are just a few of the striking examples of versatile animal behavior which, to Harvard zoologist Griffin ( Animal Thinking ), suggest that animals are cognizant of objects and events and experience conscious thoughts. In an involving, important, scholarly report that should force a reconsideration of animal studies, Griffin reviews animals' remarkable adaptability to novel challenges and their apparent ability to communicate thoughts to others. Drawing on a wealth of published research, he infers manipulative behavior in apes and foxes, fear in mantis shrimp, deception in fireflies and dreams in sleeping birds. This well-documented, understated argument presents a challenge to the reductionism of many behaviorists and cognitive psychologists. (Sept.)