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Philosophy Animal intelligence
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Animal research is showing that animals are a lot smarter than we ever realized.
How smart are animals? Do they think? Do they have feelings? Can they feel emotions the same as we humans do, or do they live by instinct alone?
Since the 1960s researchers have been testing animals from aardvarks to zebras looking for answers to those questions. They've made some fairly astonishing discoveries.
By now everybody knows that dolphins are very intelligent creatures. Not only do they communicate with one another in complex ways, but they can even follow complicated instructions given to them by their human trainers. After it was found how truly intelligent they were, most countries passed stricter laws prohibiting the killing or capture of dolphins.
Not surprisingly, primates have been found to be the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom. They can even be taught to communicate with humans using sign language. Orangutans can learn how to perform complex tasks such as washing clothes after only a few tries.
The animals that has surprised researchers the most has been the bird. We call someone a "birdbrain" when we want to accuse him of being stupid, and birds have been accused of having "4-second memories". But laboratory experiments have shown that birds are anything but stupid. Some birds use tools to get food and can even figure out how to solve problems. Those are things we thought only primates could do.
Okay, so animals are smart, but what about emotions? Do they have feelings, too? Research shows that they definitely do. Any person who has a house pet would probably agree.
Dogs, cats, and even birds, hate to be left alone. Loneliness is the cause of many an unhappy pet. Dogs will tear up the house when left alone too ling, cats will stop eating and forget to use their litterbox, and birds will pull out their feathers. In the wild, elephants and other kinds of animals mourn the death of a companion.
The most exciting experiments with pets have centered around their so called 6th sense, including the ability to know what their owners are doing even when they are far away.
In one experiment in England, a dog was left at home in a living room with a video camera trained on him while his owner was taken several miles away by the researcher. Clocks were synchronized. The owner was taken to a park and kept there for an hour or so. At 2:03 p.m. she was told to return home. At that exact moment, the dog at home walked to the window and started looking outside. To eliminate the possibility that it had happened just by chance, the experiment was repeated many times. Each time the same thing happened. The dog went to the window.
Other pets show the same abilities. Cats are waiting in the windows when their owners come home, and birds are already chirping excitedly when their owners are approaching the house but still too far away to be seen. Our scientists still can't explain how animals can to that.
The more we find out about the animals we share the planet with, the more respect people are willing to give them. Since serious research on animal intelligence began four decades ago, stricter laws have been passed in every advanced country protecting animals from bad treatment. In 2001 a man in the U.S. was given prison time for throwing a dog into traffic, resulting on the dog's death.
In South Korea, the only developed country in the world where dog meat is eaten, there is now a growing grassroots movement to stop it.
Question
1. How do you feel about animals? Are you an animals lover, or do you dislike animals? Tell why.
2. Have you ever owned a pet? If so, what kind was it, and how would you rate its intelligence - pretty smart, or pretty dumb? Explain
3. Should animals be protected from people, or should people be allowed to do whatever they want with animals? Tell why you think so
4. Researchers are finding that certain primates such as chimpanzees and orangutans can be taught to do simple tasks such as washing dishes or washing clothes. Do you think those animals should be used to do jobs like that? Why or why not?
이 글은「대학연합영어토론동아리」www.pioneerclub.com에서 제공하는 영어토론 정보입니다.
How smart are animals? Do they think? Do they have feelings? Can they feel emotions the same as we humans do, or do they live by instinct alone?
Since the 1960s researchers have been testing animals from aardvarks to zebras looking for answers to those questions. They've made some fairly astonishing discoveries.
By now everybody knows that dolphins are very intelligent creatures. Not only do they communicate with one another in complex ways, but they can even follow complicated instructions given to them by their human trainers. After it was found how truly intelligent they were, most countries passed stricter laws prohibiting the killing or capture of dolphins.
Not surprisingly, primates have been found to be the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom. They can even be taught to communicate with humans using sign language. Orangutans can learn how to perform complex tasks such as washing clothes after only a few tries.
The animals that has surprised researchers the most has been the bird. We call someone a "birdbrain" when we want to accuse him of being stupid, and birds have been accused of having "4-second memories". But laboratory experiments have shown that birds are anything but stupid. Some birds use tools to get food and can even figure out how to solve problems. Those are things we thought only primates could do.
Okay, so animals are smart, but what about emotions? Do they have feelings, too? Research shows that they definitely do. Any person who has a house pet would probably agree.
Dogs, cats, and even birds, hate to be left alone. Loneliness is the cause of many an unhappy pet. Dogs will tear up the house when left alone too ling, cats will stop eating and forget to use their litterbox, and birds will pull out their feathers. In the wild, elephants and other kinds of animals mourn the death of a companion.
The most exciting experiments with pets have centered around their so called 6th sense, including the ability to know what their owners are doing even when they are far away.
In one experiment in England, a dog was left at home in a living room with a video camera trained on him while his owner was taken several miles away by the researcher. Clocks were synchronized. The owner was taken to a park and kept there for an hour or so. At 2:03 p.m. she was told to return home. At that exact moment, the dog at home walked to the window and started looking outside. To eliminate the possibility that it had happened just by chance, the experiment was repeated many times. Each time the same thing happened. The dog went to the window.
Other pets show the same abilities. Cats are waiting in the windows when their owners come home, and birds are already chirping excitedly when their owners are approaching the house but still too far away to be seen. Our scientists still can't explain how animals can to that.
The more we find out about the animals we share the planet with, the more respect people are willing to give them. Since serious research on animal intelligence began four decades ago, stricter laws have been passed in every advanced country protecting animals from bad treatment. In 2001 a man in the U.S. was given prison time for throwing a dog into traffic, resulting on the dog's death.
In South Korea, the only developed country in the world where dog meat is eaten, there is now a growing grassroots movement to stop it.
Question
1. How do you feel about animals? Are you an animals lover, or do you dislike animals? Tell why.
2. Have you ever owned a pet? If so, what kind was it, and how would you rate its intelligence - pretty smart, or pretty dumb? Explain
3. Should animals be protected from people, or should people be allowed to do whatever they want with animals? Tell why you think so
4. Researchers are finding that certain primates such as chimpanzees and orangutans can be taught to do simple tasks such as washing dishes or washing clothes. Do you think those animals should be used to do jobs like that? Why or why not?
이 글은「대학연합영어토론동아리」www.pioneerclub.com에서 제공하는 영어토론 정보입니다.
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