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Animal Mind and Consciousness
Richterová, Klaudie ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Jirsa, Jakub (referee)
Název diplomové práce: Mysl a vědomí u zvířat Vedoucí práce: prof. Karel Thein, Ph.D. Vypracovala: Bc. Klaudie Richterová Abstract This thesis examines the issue of cognition, mind and consciousness of living beings other than humans. It starts with the attitudes of two contemporary thinkers: Thomas Nagel and Daniel C. Dennett. In connection with their opinions, this thesis examines a certain number of questions: Might there be something like a subjective experience of life or being? How can one know that others have mental states that are like one's own? How important is a fact that nonhuman animals cannot describe their mental states in language? Is it possible to connect the observable characteristics of animals (behavioral or neurological) to consciousness? Nagel assumes that individuals have a proprietary perspective on their own perceptual, cognitive and emotive processes. Dennett argues that consciousness is essentially an illusion created by language, which is why he concludes that consciousness is uniquely human. What complicates the whole issue is the essential inwardness of the conscious experience. We objectivize this inwardness per our aim to know, and thus deprive it of its essence. Thereby, very often, we lose sight of what we want to examine.
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Animal Mind and Consciousness
Richterová, Klaudie ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Jirsa, Jakub (referee)
Název diplomové práce: Mysl a vědomí u zvířat Vedoucí práce: prof. Karel Thein, Ph.D. Vypracovala: Bc. Klaudie Richterová Abstrakt v anglickém jazyce This thesis examines the issue of cognition, mind, and consciousness of living beings other than humans. What complicates the whole issue is the essential inwardness of the conscious experience. We objectivize this inwardness per our aim to know, and thus deprive it of its essence. Thereby, very often, we lose sight of what we want to examine. This problem is related to the theme of speech as a form of communication that plays an ambivalent role here. Speech in the sense of articulated form of communication can easily become a barrier that separates human beings from other living creatures; the so-called less articulated forms of communication may, on the other hand, be an opportunity to overcome this barrier. Part of the thesis thus offers a critical reflection on the scientific research whose focus is on animal abilities, but which forgets to take into account the human element contained in the apparently scientific method. The final part of the thesis deals with modern research of a canine abilities and offers a reflection on the influence of the domestication process on what we call intelligence.
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The impact of human knowledge on animals and plants
Richterová, Klaudie ; Thein, Karel (advisor) ; Jirsa, Jakub (referee)
Název práce: Dopad lidského poznání na zvířata a rostliny Vedoucí práce: doc. PhDr. Karel Thein, Ph.D. Vypracovala: Klaudie Richterová Abstrakt anglicky The last century has seen the rise of interest in the welfare of animals and one of the leaders of this movement has been the philosopher Peter Singer. His theory says that animals have their own interests, just like humans, because they are able to feel pleasure and pain. On the basis of this assumption he recurs to the principle of equal consideration of interests. Nevertheless this principle applies only to animals and human beings. However, modern research proves that humans and animals are not the only sentient beings on the Earth. Plants are not simply passive things in vegetative state. According to the current research, plants are active individuals who communicate with each other, have their own system of self-defence and basically their own way of life. In accordance with this new scientific knowledge we should include plants into the application of the principle of equal consideration of interests that is if we do not want to be proponents of species superiority.
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