My kitties - ‘Nicholas’ on the left and ‘Lazarus’ on the right - playing silly buggers.
“If you see two life forms, one of them is making a poop, the other one is carrying it for him; who would you assume is in charge?” – Jerry Seinfeld
I often catch myself mindlessly staring at my cats. There is something strangely engrossing about watching those furry felines play silly buggers. I wonder what they’re doing as they run around in circles chasing what appears to be nothing. I wonder if they know why their running around in circles like crazed little lunatics. Does it make sense to them? Is there a rhyme or reason to their dizzying revolutions? Do they know something I don’t know?
An idea I’ve heard expressed many times, by many different people, in many different forms, goes something like this – animals are not as intelligent as us. And if I was to accept that idea wholesale, then I could assume that my cats don’t know what they’re doing, as they don’t have the intellectual capacity to know. But… That idea does not sit well with me. What bothers me about this idea is that not only does it unfairly diminish animal intelligence, but it also reeks of the all-too-common tendency to speak about things with an air of unsubstantiated certainty, when we just don’t know. And, since I will not stand by while my kitties and animals everywhere are insulted in this way, I have decided to have a little fun picking apart this idea...
WHAT EVEN IS INTELLIGENCE?
The funny thing about ‘intelligence’ is that it is one of those slippery words like ‘consciousness’ where there are a myriad of different definitions and theories about what exactly it is, how exactly its applied, and the different forms in which it appears. This is problem number one: if we can’t even decide what exactly intelligence is, then how can we claim that we are more intelligent than animals? But since I don’t want to get stuck on some definitional wild-goose-chase, for the purposes of this essay, let’s use the definition given by the author of the 2020 book, Birth of Intelligence, Daeyeol Lee.
“Intelligence can be defined as the ability to solve complex problems or make decisions with outcomes benefitting the actor…”
UNAVOIDABLY HUMAN-CENTRIC
Okay now we’ve got the definition straight let’s move onto problem number two, where I throw all definitions of intelligence into question (mwahahaha)… Even if the above definition of intelligence is a good one – which I think it is – it is still a definition we humans came up with. It is still our metric, based on our concepts, and the way we perceive and make sense of the world. It is unavoidably a human-centric understanding of intelligence. And for all we know, maybe animals see things differently. Maybe they have different views we’re not privy to. Maybe they don’t think of things in terms of problems and outcomes. Maybe, just maybe, we are so blinded by our own way of framing reality that we have no hope in hell of ever comprehending how intelligent animals are. And so, if we’re as smart as we think we are, we should probably acknowledge that just because animals don’t always conform to our definitions of intelligence – that does not mean they’re not intelligent.
If crayfish, crabs, or newts got to define intelligence based off their ability to regenerate lost limbs then they would have us beat. If octopi, seahorses, or chameleons got to define intelligence based off their ability to change the colouration and texture of their body to blend into their environment, attract mates, and communicate then they would have us beat. If pit vipers (who have infrared vision), bees (who can see ultraviolet light), dolphins (who can echolocate), platypi (who can sense food through electroreception) or a whole sleuth of other animals got to define intelligence based off their ability to perceive things humans can’t – and then act on those perceptions in ways that benefit them – then they would have us beat. Or if the entire animal kingdom got to define intelligence based off their ability to live harmoniously with nature, then they would certainly have us beat. And so, since we couldn’t help but rig the deck in our favour when it came to how we defined intelligence – it seems incredibly unintelligent to claim that we are actually more intelligent than animals because at the end of the day we have no way of knowing.
SMART KITTY
Another argument that is often used to support the idea that we are smarter than animals, is that: humans communicate with complex languages that are far more intelligent than any animal communication. Which is a cute but hollow defence. Because the last time I checked – we don’t know what animals are saying. We have not deciphered their languages, nor do we understand all the different ways they communicate. And the fact that we don’t know what they’re saying – actually proves that we don’t know how complex their communication is. And sure, I’ll extend an olive branch and acknowledge that there are scientists who have hunches, theories, and human-centric interpretations about how animals communicate – but as far as I’m aware none of those scientists have engaged in any form of legitimate interspecies communication where they can confidently claim that they know what an animal actually said.* The way I see it, if we don’t know what animals are saying – we can’t claim our communication is more intelligent than theirs.
But I guess developing a way of engaging in interspecies communication is an incredibly complex problem. And yet, the complexity of that problem didn’t stop cats from developing a specific way of communicating with us. Interestingly enough cats do not ‘meow’ at each other; instead, the whiny ‘meow’ sound they make was crafted just for us. Somehow, cats figured out that us humans are extremely responsive to the cries of our young and so the smart little devils put their voice boxes to work fashioning a specific sound that would mimic the cries of human infants. Since then, those pesky little buggers have been taking advantage of this attention-grabbing sound by using it to promptly inform us when they want to be fed or when it’s time for us to empty their litter trays (thanks kitty). And so, even though us humans are yet to master interspecies communication it seems that some of the ‘less intelligent’ species have no problem overcoming such a complex problem.
CONSCIOUS, REALLY?
I saved my favourite rebuttal for last. See, it is sometimes posited that animals are not as intelligent as us because they don’t have the same sense of self as we do. Or to put it differently, they are not as consciously aware as us. I find this argument hilarious because implicit in that claim is the notion that us humans are actually consciously aware. Which is laughable. I mean, do you really know why you do all the things you do? Do you really know what drives you? Do you always act from a place of conscious rational thought?
I don’t.
According to Google (if you trust that moderated fucker) a whopping 95% of our behaviour is unconscious. Which means we only operate in a way that is more consciously aware than the animals 5% of the time anyway. And let’s be real here: 5% is being generous. After all, if you look at our behaviour it’s obvious that we are just as lost, confused, and unaware as we claim the animals are. Otherwise, you’d think that by now we would have stopped endlessly engaging in wars, ceaselessly polluting the planet, incessantly drawing arbitrary lines in the sand that divide us, and mindlessly racing from the cradle to the grave never stopping long enough to even question why we have set up a system where many of us spend the best years of our lives doing things we don’t want to do. And yet we continue to persist with these unconscious pursuits. In other words, to say that animals are not as intelligent as us because they’re not as consciously aware, is the pot calling the kettle black.
A QUOTE AND A WORD FROM THE PLATYPUS
Even though 95% of the time I have no clue why I’m doing what I’m doing – I’m pretty sure what I’m saying here is that it is highly likely that animals are way smarter than we say they are. I’m almost certain I’m saying that us humans are far too quick to act like we have it all figured out when most of the time we really have no idea. And I’m definitely saying that, Hippolyte A. Taine had it right when he said:
“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.”
But wait…
Just as I was about to close this word document and get my customary ‘essay-well-done’ lollipop my old friend, The Platypus – who first joined us here – chimed in to make a final point. He said:
“Michael, you’re not giving humans enough credit… See, maybe those humans who diminish animal intelligence know exactly what they’re doing. Maybe it pacifies them to believe that animals are less intelligent than they are because that way they can justify to themselves how cruelly they treat us incredible creatures. After all, if those humans had to acknowledge that us animals are just as intelligent as they are, then they’d be forced to ask themselves why they continue to decimate our homes, cage us for their viewing pleasure, and subject us to the horrors of factory farming”.
And with that, The Platypus dropped the proverbial mic and waddled off to play silly buggers with my cats.
*Footnote:
And yes, I did see the recent click-bait headline that said, ‘Scientists engaged in a 20-min conversation with a humpback whale’. I also read the actual 10-page scientific report on this so-called ‘conversation’ – which revealed that it wasn’t so much a ‘conversation’ as it was humans playing pre-recorded whale sounds to a whale and the whale making sounds back. And while that is cool, it certainly doesn’t mean that we have any clue what that whale said.
I’ve been reading parts of this out loud enough that my husband is threatening divorce (to which I responded “Finally!” As usual). Our cat snoozes on.
Hi Michael, there are so many things I love about this post! Besides wholeheartedly agreeing with you on this: "...it also reeks of the all-too-common tendency to speak about things with an air of unsubstantiated certainty, when we just don’t know." I also just adore the look of your cats, and it makes me smile to hear the Aussie phrase, "playing silly buggers." I must be homesick😁
Also if you haven't read him, you may enjoy Howard Gardener's books, perhaps Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences - not that I've read this one, I read a much older one of his: Leading Minds: An Anatomy Of Leadership.
Also have you seen that movie, My Octopus Teacher?
I also have to say I love this in particular: "In other words, to say that animals are not as intelligent as us because they’re not as consciously aware, is the pot calling the kettle black." Agreed! and I love how Eckhart Tolle calls cats and dogs, "guardians of being."
Keep writing Michael, it's such a joy to read your posts and witness how your mind works. Thanks for sharing your gifts♥️🙏🕊