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Why not ask “Does the chimpanzee have a soul?”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 1998

William M. Baum
William M. Baum
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3567 wm.baum@unh.edu
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Abstract

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The question, “Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?” is logically identical to the question, “Does the chimpanzee have a soul?” It is a peculiarity of our culture that we talk about anyone having a mind, and such talk is unhelpful for a science of behavior. The label “killjoy hypothesis” is an ad hominem attack.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , February 1998, pp. 116
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press