(February 5, 2014 at 2:19 pm)whateverist Wrote: I can believe it. It is a shame how they are treated and of course they are one of the most dangerous animals to work with. But when I think about the consciousness of elephants I get a little excited in a we're-not-alone sort of way. I wonder what their subjective life is like. I don't think they use language so they wouldn't engage in discursive thinking - but that just fuels my suspicion they are smart with an interesting perspective. Wish there was a way to interact which resulted in no harm to either of us.
But a self portrait could be the result of pavlovian type training. I think it's important to know that if they could identify the picture as a self portrait rather than just something they did.
Elephants mourn their dead and have rituals.
Quote:Elephants are the only species of mammals other than Homo sapiens sapiens and Neanderthals[35] known to have or have had any recognizable ritual around death. They show a keen interest in the bones of their own kind (even unrelated elephants that have died long ago). They are often seen gently investigating the bones with their trunks and feet while remaining very quiet. Sometimes elephants that are completely unrelated to the deceased still visit their graves.[14] When an elephant is hurt, other elephants (even if they are unrelated) aid them.[24]
I think they must have feelings and subjective experiences beyond "instincts".
