Animal Intelligence: Exceeding
Human Perception
Does Animals Know More Than Humans?
Seizure Alert Dogs
The article discusses how some animals exhibit high intelligence in various
situations. One example provided is the case of seizure alert dogs. These
dogs are able to predict their owners' seizures before they occur,
demonstrating their ability to apply their thinking skills to new situations.
The article cites the case of Connie Standley, who has two Bouvier de
Flandres dogs that can foresee her seizures. These dogs were trained as
seizure alert dogs before they came to her.
Clever Hans
The article also presents the case of Clever Hans, a horse that was able to
detect and understand human signs that even humans could not see, similar
to how seizure alert dogs can predict seizures. Although a psychologist
showed that Hans was not actually counting, he discovered that Hans could
only answer questions when the people asking were in plain view and
already knew the answer. This was due to Hans' ability to observe
unconscious clues that humans were giving him without noticing. The
authors suggest that Hans might be considered intelligent because he was
able to read a member of a different species and train himself.
Comparison of Animal and Human Intelligence
The authors make a comparison between the development of intelligence in
animals and humans, stating that intelligence is "people using their built-in
perceptual and cognitive skills to achieve usual and sometimes remarkable
goals," in the same way animals do. This suggests that animals may possess
a level of intelligence that is comparable to or even exceeds that of humans
in certain situations.
