Michael Norris

Do only humans have minds?

The human mind, an ambiguous thing at best, it enables us to think, perceive, imagine and remember. Often the question has come up as to whether or not we are unique in this aspect, whether we are the only ones truly in possession of a mind. Many other animals have shown the capacity for memory. From cats and dogs to elephants and goldfish, many creatures can perceive things as dangerous, safe, rewarding .etc, and have the capacity to remember this thing, and act appropriately when they encounter it again. Similarly, computer AIs have also shown a capacity for memory, remembering what one may state to it. This may seem at first that other entities have minds, they are able to remember, and, we can assume then, think. However, this falls to the assumption that memory is a core aspect to having a mind. This assumption is wrong. If we were to take this assumption, we could then assume that each of our muscles have their own memory which is observable via our reflex actions. Of course, this notion is ridiculous, and we can then conclude that memory is not a core part of a mind. The only true way we are able to know that others have minds, is via observation. We cannot observe others thinking, and so, we have to take to their actions. Behaviour is a key part in this, for we know that we have our behaviour influenced, and often set, by our mental states and thoughts. Thus we can assume that a mouse, dog or any other non-Homo animal has a mind, simply by the way they behave.

Other humans than ourselves, we can assume, have minds as we can observe them behaving in different fashions, we can have a conversation as to their opinion about something, and we can observe their personality, how they behave when in a discussion the vast majority of the time. For other animals, we cannot have a conversation with them to determine their personality or opinions, and thus, we have only to rely on their behaviour. A mother bear, for example, has behaviour in regards that she will be angry if any were to invade her cave, or be a threat to her cubs. At other times, she may be passive and calm when she knows that her cubs are safe. We then can assume that a mother bear has a mind that influences her outward behaviours. A computer, we cannot assume has a mind, as a computer will never show any self-programmed behaviours or actions. Some would argue then, that this would put us in the position that would have us believing that other animals think, they are also thinking beings. If a bear is able to be protective of her cubs and angered when they are threatened, surely she is thinking the thought My cubs are in danger, I should protect them. If a bear is a thinking being, surely then she would also be able to distinguish between a threat and an innocent bystander, as they have often proved that they cannot (eg. when a child accidentally goes near a bears cubs and the mother expresses anger, as she sees it as a threat). Of course, this seems to lie on the assumption that having a mind means being able to think. This is not the case. Thinking is one of the things that is determined by the mind, not something that is part of the mind. Behaviour, it would appear, is part of the mind in that it helps determine our actions, and our thoughts. By this, I mean that our behaviour will help determine how we think, if we are behaving in a certain way, we will then proceed to think thoughts about how we have behaved. In this way, the influencing of other things determined by the mind, we can assume that behaviour is part of the mind, rather than a determination of the mind. Thus, the bear mother would not have to think to protect her cubs, the behaviour would come before any thought could even be known, and

Michael Norris thus, her perception of danger may be incorrect as she has behaved without thinking about her actions. Humans are no different, how often has it been heard that we didnt think about the consequences of our actions? This is simply due to behaviour coming primarily prior to thought.

The human mind is an aspect of ourselves that we have oft thought is unique, it is something with which we associate all our behaviour, thoughts, actions and otherwise. Often however, we wonder whether other entities, such as animals, have minds. Three aspects of humans allow us to determine whether they have a mind, and these are their opinions, personality and their behaviours. For other animals, we can determine only one of these things, their behaviours. Behaviour, however, is one of the most important parts of our mind, influencing the determinations of our mind (thought, memory .etc) and making it, in fact, the vital part that allows us to have a mind. As other animals then, display behaviour (as a mother bear may protect her cub for example) we can conclude that humans are not unique in having a mind, they are unique only in their ability to think.