Abstract Concepts

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Can Animals Understand Abstract Concepts?



                             What are abstract concepts?




Abstract thinking is a level of thinking about things that is removed from the facts of the “here and now” 



Image result for dogs with glasses
http://coolsandfools.com/dogs-wearing-glasses-1/

Can animals understand these concepts?
Dogs, seem to have better than expected abstract-thinking abilities. They can reliably recognize pictures of other dogs, regardless of breed, as a study in the July 2013 Animal Cognition showed. The results surprised scientists not only because dog breeds vary so widely in appearance but also because it had been unclear whether dogs could routinely identify fellow canines without the advantage of smell and other senses.


In a remarkable experiment last fall, researchers gave gorillas and orangutans touchscreens, presented them with a picture of an animal, and then showed them pictures of two other animals—one that shared some characteristic with the first, and another that didn't.The primates proved relatively adept at matching the pairs, even when the connection between them was fairly abstract—for example, they could correctly match turtles to snakes suggesting they'd figured out what reptiles are.


                                                Image result for ducks 
                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me6CFnlOBdA  
                Check out this youtube video about abstract concepts in ducklings!

                                             What do you think?
Do you think animals are able to understand abstract concepts or do you think they're trained through positive reinforcement to understand these concepts? 
Do you think there is too much anthropomorphizing in believing animals can understand these concepts?

                                                                                                                     sources
www.projectlearnet.org/tutorials/concrete_vs_abstract_thinking.html
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/many-animals-can-think-abstractly/

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