首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
People with pets find it hard to believe, but scientists continue to debate whether or not animals are conscious—that is, whethe
People with pets find it hard to believe, but scientists continue to debate whether or not animals are conscious—that is, whethe
admin
2010-04-30
54
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.
The view that animals have consciousness may not be convincing to all because______.
选项
A、there is not sufficient evident to prove it
B、there is not rigorous evidence to prove it
C、there is not scientific evidence to prove it
D、there is not direct evidence to prove it
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/cLOK777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
__________(习惯了与大自然作斗争求生存的人们)werebewilderedbypoliticians,bankersandbusinessmen.
A、Hewentmountainclimbinglastyear.B、Hehasn’ttraveledaroundtheworldyet.C、He’salwayswantedtoclimbthatmountain.D
A、Becauseitisdifficulttomaintainamarriage.B、BecausepeoplelikewatchingTVprograms.C、Becausepeoplepreferfreedomto
A、She’lldefinitelygetagoodgradebecauseshedidn’tuseInternetsources.B、She’llprobablydobadlyonherpapersinceshe
JohannStrausswasborninViennain1825.Hisfather,awell-knownmusician,wasastrangeand(36)______man.Hedidnotwant
ScientistssaytherehasbeenaseveredecreaseintheamountofwaterinLakeChadinnorthernAfricainthelastthirtyyears.
Forthegenerationthatgrewupduringthefeministrevolutionandtherapidsocialchangeofthe1960sand1970s,itatfirsts
ARVshaven’tbeenusedwidelytopreventHIVtransmissionorinfectionforlackofmoney.Virtuallyallpatientschoosetotole
Hetalksasif__________________________.(对于这家企业他什么都懂)
A、Three.B、Nine.C、Five.D、Ten.A
随机试题
半圆板的半径为r,重为W,如图所示,已知板的重心C和圆形的距离为,在A、B、D三点用三根铅垂绳悬挂于天花板上,使板处于水平位置,则三根绳子的拉力为()。
下列可以增加房地产的需求量的方法是()。
会计账簿是指由一定格式的账页组成的,以()为依据,全面、系统、连续地记录各项经济业务的簿籍。
AB两宗房地产,A房收益年限为50年,单价为2000元/平方米,B房地产收益年限为30年,单价为1800元/平方米,报酬率均为6%。A房无限年价格为()元/平方米。
下列关于统计的基本概念,正确的是()。
我们是否想过,当看到一个非常精彩的东西时,你就匆匆忙忙把它拍下来,发出去,然后被转发,但是在这个过程中,其实你并没有看清楚它,更没有看清楚它与我们之间的关系。如何能够实现精神上的真正交流,这才是我们应该追问的。这段文字要表达的主要意思是(
信件:E-mail
在一棵二叉树上,第5层的结点数最多是()。
Lightningcausesmorefiredamageofforestsandpropertythananythingelse.Moreimportantly,itkillsmorepeoplethananyot
GermanChancellor(首相)OttoVonBismarckmaybemostfamousforhismilitaryanddiplomatictalent,buthislegacy(遗产)includesman
最新回复
(
0
)