Open AccessThe question of animal technical capacities
Author(s) -
Ana Cuevas Badallo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
revista de humanidades de valparaíso
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.102
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 0719-4242
pISSN - 0719-4234
DOI - 10.22370/rhv2019iss14pp139-170
Subject(s) - intentionality , ethology , variety (cybernetics) , object (grammar) , cognitive science , epistemology , non human , psychology , sociology , computer science , artificial intelligence , ecology , philosophy , biology
The ability to use and make technical artifacts has been considered exclusive to human beings. However, recent findings in ethology in light of observations made in nature and in laboratory show the opposite. In the area of philosophy of technology there are few exceptions that take into account the ability of some non-human animals to manufacture and use tools. In this paper I want to show some reasons to reconsider other possibilities. It seems that capacities such as intentionality, culture or even the complexity of the structures of manufactured object are not exclusive to human beings. I will suggest a different way of analyzing objects created by non-human animals, one that tries to explain the gradualness of the structure, but also the plasticity of the behavior exhibited by non-human animals. These two elements (structure and behavioral plasticity) allow a deeper understanding of the great variety of objects that other animals also manufacture and use.