in article [email hidden], Mark the Marker at
[email hidden] wrote on 10/16/03 8:33 AM:
Quoted message said:My cats know when someone is going to feed them. They know who is friend and who is foe.
Dogs, ditto. One imagines dolphins and whales and monkeys (and other primates) are the same.
My question: What is the lowest-level animal that can distinguish between friendly and hostile
persons? For instance, a goldfush can't tell, and doesn't care, if the person feeding it is hoping
the fish live their lives to the fullest, or is a sicko who wants to injure/maim/kill them. A cat
or dog can, after a few encounters, recognize the difference.
Your premise seems pretty flimsy to me. Do you really think that dogs and cats would learn to react
negatively to someone who doesn't like them but who feeds and cares for them regularly? Similarly,
do you really think that fish can't learn to distinguish between those (individuals or species) who
pose a threat as compared with those that don't? I think there is plenty of evidence to the
contrary on both points. Can you point me to evidence in support of your premise, or is it just a
gut feeling of yours?
My gut feeling is that there is no discrete boundary separating kinds of species that can learn to
identify "friends from foes."
Quoted message said:What is the most primiitive animal that can contemplate the difference between a friendly and a
hostile human being?
I am sure that the answer to this question, which is a bit different from the one you described
above, is the same as the answer to the question "what is the most primiitive animal that can
contemplate."
Guy
