User talk:Kadamkodan

Today, I want to throw some light on the thinking power of animals. Do animals have power of thing? Do they have worries? Let me examine:

The word 'think/thinking' literally means the ability or capability to use the 'mind' rationally. Rationality involves the principle of accepting reason as authority in matters of opinion, belief or conduct. We have to evaluate the process of thinking power of animals in the context of the cited meaning and then find a scientific answer to the question:

In physiological terms what we talk of mind is the resultant interactions of the sensory cntres like visual, auditory, olfactory, motor et al in the cerebral cortex of the organism with the stimuli emanating from both the internal and external environs. Basically, this process is inherent in animals as well as humans. But there is a major difference existing between animals and humans when we talk of thinking power of animals vis-a-vis humans. Though both the animals and humans have mental activity, nervous reactions of animals are limited to what is possible through signs and symbols confined to the first signal system where generation of opinion or belief or conduct is unavailable to the species.

It took a very long time in the path of mutations and adaptations to evolve homosapiens with highly developed nervous system endowed with second signal system (language based mental activity) where cognitive activities of perceptions, conceptions, judgments and memory could be the supreme order of mind; where reasoning in matters of opinion, belief or conduct could be natural means of mental activity and where thinking power could be dominant. It means that animals have no thinking power the process of which is the exclusive possession of humans.

Animals ought to have worries but their worries would be limited to and confined in matters relating to bare subsistence for survival; Where food and water are not available they do have worry but they cannot think and device solutions for making food and water available for consumption: their mental activity would simply enable them to wander about till they either find food and water or perish.

Author: P K Narayanan (Dr)