Readings in Animal Cognition

This collection of 24 readings is the first comprehensive treatment of important topics by leading figures in the rapidly growing interdisciplinary field of animal cognition. Taken together the essays provide the nucleus for an introductory course in animal cognition (cognitive ethology and comparative psychology), philosophy of biology, or philosophy of mind. Selections are grouped in five sections: Perspectives on Animal Cognition; Cognitive and Evolutionary Explanations; Recognition, Choice, Vigilance, and Play; Communication and Language; and Animal Minds. Seventeen essays are reprinted from the authors much cited two-volume collection, Interpretation and Explanation in the Study of Animal Behavior. One essay taken from that book has been subsequently revised, and five additional essays are recent examples of critical thinking in cognitive ethology. The preface and final chapter, "Ethics and the Study of Animal Cognition," are new. A Bradford BookBekoff, Marc is the author of 'Readings in Animal Cognition' with ISBN 9780262522083 and ISBN 026252208X.