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lizzlelizzle's review against another edition
4.0
Loved reading this book. I am reading “Ways of Being” at the same time and found that the first chapter of the latter did extremely heavy quoting and citing of this book, which made it feel fun to be reading at the same time. It’s clear that this book and all the research behind it was very influential.
noodle0603's review
3.0
typical popsci book about animal intelligence / cognition. there were times when it was a bit pompous, but it was more bearable than some of the others i have read, at least.
amarojha's review
4.0
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read that I'd recommend to any animal aficionado. It is a tour de force detailing the progress we've made understanding animal behavior and ultimately, cognition, through nuanced experimentation. de Waal covers a lot of ground and a lot of the work he cites may not be new to someone already interested in the topic (surely, everyone by now has heard of the mirror test or seen videos of monkeys protesting unequal treatment), but that also goes to show how far the field has come in penetrating scholarly and public understanding of animals—they can think, they can feel, they likely possess some experience of the world that may suggest conscious awareness. Equally important, I would suggest this to anyone who spends their days researching with animals to reflect on the status quo of behavioral paradigms—is this the best way to test an animal's cognition? What does this sort of experiment reasonably tell us?
ertrunnell's review against another edition
informative
3.5
3.5. I was really wanting de Waal to come to some logical conclusions about what understanding of animal cognition should mean for their treatment, but he didn’t.
gvsl007's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
sirjangles's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
breadguy's review against another edition
5.0
Loaded with information and enlightened opinion, the book gives a strong argument for the intelligence and consciousness (a nearly impossible to define state, as the author consistently notes) of animals. Beginning with a devastating takedown of Behaviorism, which dominated the social sciences through much of the twentieth century, the author presents a large array of evidence for conscious thought -- deliberate problem-solving, compassion, cooperation, altruistic behavior, etc. -- among a variety of "wild" creatures, including rats and mice, corvids, dolphins, monkeys, and the author's specialty, apes. After reading the descriptions of scientists observing the creativity and intelligence of many types of animals, you will gain a greater respect for these creatures -- unless your mind is closed.
Although the book can be a bit dry for the non-scientist at times, i still give it five stars for its brilliant and fascinating observations.
Although the book can be a bit dry for the non-scientist at times, i still give it five stars for its brilliant and fascinating observations.