The New Anthropomorphism

This book provides evidence that anthropomorphism (the assumption that animals think and feel as we do) still haunts the study of animal behaviour.

In this 1992 book, John Kennedy's point is that explicit anthropomorphism was well-nigh killed by fierce criticism from the radical Behaviourists, but that we have to recognize that today there is a new anthropomorphism which is much harder to avoid because it is unintended and largely unconscious. For that reason even those who if they were asked would firmly reject anthropomorphism nevertheless unwittingly slip into it from time to time. This book contains nineteen essays on behavioural concepts which have seldom been identified as anthropomorphic but in fact bear that connotation and lead to mistakes. Some of these, such as search images in birds and the learning of grammatical language by apes, have been seen through as errors after a time. A greater number, such as efference copy, goal-directedness, cognition and suffering in animals, are still current though not yet regarded as erroneous. The final chapter outlines things we can do to minimise the damage it does to the causal analysis of animal behaviour.

1. Introduction; 2. Anthropomorphism and teleology, explicit anthropomorphism, behaviourist taboo, uniqueness of Man, consciousness, unconsciousness, compulsive anthropomorphism; 3. Instinct, nest-building, search images, language, imitation, functions as causes, imbalance; 4. Migration, purpose and goal, efference copy, motivation; 5. Intentionality, cognition, self-awareness, suffering; 6. Hierarchy, displacement, inhibition, trail-following; 7. Illusions, indulgence, neoanthropomorphism, prescription; Bibliography.

In this 1992 book, John Kennedy's point is that explicit anthropomorphism was well-nigh killed by fierce criticism from the radical Behaviourists, but that we have to recognize that today there is a new anthropomorphism which is much harder to avoid because it is unintended and largely unconscious.