首页
登录
职称英语
People with pets find it hard to believe, but scientists continue to debate w
People with pets find it hard to believe, but scientists continue to debate w
游客
2024-06-10
50
管理
问题
People with pets find it hard to believe, but scientists continue to debate whether or not animals are conscious—that is, whether they’re aware of themselves as individuals.
Some still claim that anything animals do is strictly the result of conditioning. Others are willing to grant animals a certain amount of intelligence, but argue that animals are no more self-aware than computers, which, after all, are also capable of complex, seemingly conscious behavior.
One sign of intelligence, if not necessarily consciousness, is tool use. Chimpanzees use sticks to reach for things and fish for termites; they’ve even been seen to attach two sticks together to make a longer stick. Non-primates can be just as ingenious. One scientist had a crow living in his laboratory who was fed dry mash that had to be moistened before it could be eaten. Occasionally the keepers forgot to moisten it. The crow used a cup he had been given as a toy to get his own water and moisten the mash himself!
Egyptian vultures throw rocks at ostrich eggs to break them open; the woodpecker finch, of the Galapagos islands, uses a cactus spine to pry grubs out of tree branches; some green herons will drop small objects onto the surface of the water to lure fish to the surface.
Dolphins have no hands, but they’ve learned to carry rocks around by sucking them into their blowholes. Dolphins will also blow bubble rings, then play with them as they rise to the surface. Sometimes they’ll drop bits of fish or seaweed into the center of a bobble ring just to see what happens.
Nevertheless, many scientists still think that animals are basically sleepwalkers, carrying out complex actions but completely unaware they are doing so.
This notion only dates back to the 1920s, when the psychological theory known as behaviorism took hold. Behaviorists said that any animal behavior, no matter how complex, could be explained in terms of the interaction of learned responses to stimuli. Behaviorism made it possible for psychologists to carry out rigorous experiments, and so it became very popular.
The problem with animal consciousness is that it’s almost impossible to prove rigorously. Still, there is evidence: not only the common-sense evidence pet-owners provide, but experimental evidence (i.e., "if rats and humans react in exactly the same way to certain situations, and humans are aware of why they’re acting that way, maybe rats are too") and indirect evidence (certain brain waves that seem to be linked to conscious thoughts in humans occur in animals, too).
Consciousness, argue the scientists who believe animals possess it, is too important to survival for animals not to possess it. When something unusual or unexpected happens, an organism needs to figure out how to escape or otherwise cope. That’s when consciousness swings into action, and ally animal without it is at a terrible disadvantage. [br] What’s the topic in this passage?
选项
A、Animal consciousness.
B、Animal behavior.
C、Tool use by animals.
D、Signs of animal intelligence.
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:http://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3627527.html
相关试题推荐
Peoplewithpetsfindithardtobelieve,butscientistscontinuetodebatew
Peoplewithpetsfindithardtobelieve,butscientistscontinuetodebatew
Peoplewithpetsfindithardtobelieve,butscientistscontinuetodebatew
Britainwasawealthycountry.Therewereafewveryrichpeoplewhoreceive
Britainwasawealthycountry.Therewereafewveryrichpeoplewhoreceive
Britainwasawealthycountry.Therewereafewveryrichpeoplewhoreceive
Britainwasawealthycountry.Therewereafewveryrichpeoplewhoreceive
Britainwasawealthycountry.Therewereafewveryrichpeoplewhoreceive
[originaltext]Chinaisdraftingnewlawstomakeiteasierforpeopletodo
[originaltext]Chinaisdraftingnewlawstomakeiteasierforpeopletodo
随机试题
Severalyearsago,webeganconstructiononanewchurchbuilding.Intheb
在不同网络之间实现数据帧的存储转发,并在数据链路层进行协议转换的网络互连器称为(
审计师在审查退休福利计划后确定,过去10年中,退休金和医疗福利已变化多次。审计师
关于规划许可证的说法,正确的是()。A:在乡村规划区内进行公益事业建设,无须办
2、对某桩径D=1200mm的桩使用超声透射法检测基桩完整性,回答以下问题。88
男,50岁,肝硬化失代偿2年,2天前因呕血伴黑粪入院,经积极治疗出血停止,近1天
患者,男性,30岁,高热待查,体温39.8℃,遵医嘱行乙醇拭浴降温。常用的乙醇浓
1.题目:归因方式 2.内容: 3.基本要求: (1)试讲时间控制在
腹股沟直疝与斜疝最主要的鉴别之处是A.疝块的形状 B.发病的年龄 C.嵌顿的
适用管径800mm的不开槽施工方法有( )。A.盾构法 B.定向钻法 C.密
最新回复
(
0
)