A revolution has recently taken place in behavioural biology. Its consequences are far-reaching, both for our self-image as humans and for our relationship with animals. Just a few decades ago, behavioural science was guided by two key beliefs: animals cannot think, and no scientific statements can be made about their emotions. Today, the same discipline holds both ideas to be false and assumes the very opposite: animals of some species are capable of insight – they can recognize themselves in a mirror and exhibit at least a basic sense of self-awareness – and they have rich emotional lives that seem to be amazingly similar to those of humans.
Indeed, the transformation of the concept of the animal in modern behavioural biology has been fundamental. This has been confirmed by the death of a third belief: for decades, it was taught that animals behave for the good of their species. Today we know this is not the case. Rather, animals do everything to ensure that copies of their own genes are passed to the next generation with maximum efficiency and, when necessary, they will also kill conspecifics. Clearly, they are not, as Jane Goodall had once famously hoped, ‘like us, but better’.
The border between humans and animals is also beginning to blur in other areas. Certain aspects of the social environment can cause stress for both humans and animals, while other similar factors can relieve it. Indeed, animal behaviour does not develop in a fixed manner: environmental influences, socialisation, and learning can change an animal from the prenatal phase (胎儿期) through adulthood. Like humans, animals ultimately appear individualised upon closer inspection.
However, such similarities across genes, brain structure, and the endocrine (内分泌的) system do not automatically imply similarities concerning thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. To better understand these characteristics, we need to look at specific studies in both animals and humans. In the case of animals, such studies take place within the field of behavioural biology, which was properly defined by one of the fathers of the discipline, the Nobel Prize winner Nikolaas Tinbergen, as ‘the study of behaviour by biological methods’.
【小题1】According to the new research, some animals___________.| A．possess rich emotions. | B．can hardly recognize themselves. |
| C．can show little self-awareness. | D．are incapable of understanding. |
| A．their desire to protect their species. |
| B．their ability to recognize themselves in mirrors. |
| C．their urge to guarantee the gene transmission. |
| D．their eagerness to be socially interacted. |
| A．There’s a clear distinction between humans and animals. |
| B．Social environment may have an impact on animal behavior. |
| C．Animals will eventually become standardized. |
| D．Learning alone can shape animal behaviour altogether. |
| A．Evolution of Views in Behavioral Biology: Typical Human, Typical Animal? |
| B．The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Study of Similarities and Differences with Humans |
| C．Understanding the Blurred Boundaries: The Human – Animal Connection in Modern Science |
| D．Past and Present: How Behavioral Biology Views Animals |
