(May 14, 2013 at 12:52 pm)Baalzebutt Wrote: The question then is, does this animal know their actions were "wrong" in the same sense that we view them as wrong or is it a situation where, like you point out, it is only "wrong" situationally or because they got caught.
Very interesting topic.
OOhhh.. Good point that blew by me. The ability to weigh it out. How interesting is it that this ability to weigh it out comes from the same place in the brain? The ability to reason before a decision, and then to go a bit further, can an animal do this concerning a decision of right or wrong...hmm. Blatent defiance or situational understanding of the rule in question.
When I caught him sleeping downthere while I was home...It made me think a bit more on it. At some point, did he decide that it was not just okay to get on the couch so long as I wasn't home, but also if I was asleep? Did he weigh out his options and determine a new boundary in order to justify it? He had to realize that I was home and that because of that, I could be there to scold him, which is what i'd given him as the benefit of the doubt for his understanding of the rule. Now I wonder if he viewed this as a chance to get away with something he knew he wasn't supposed to do the whole time, and simply took his chances. Kinda like running a red light when nobody is around. Harmless wrong doing...right, unless there's a police officer waiting to test your integrity!
