Sleeping dogs frequently appear to dream. If they do, it must
be admitted that ideation goes on in them while they are asleep; and, in
that case, there is no reason to doubt that they are conscious of trains
of ideas in their waking state. Further, that dogs, if they possess
ideas at all, have memories and expectations, and those potential
beliefs of which these states are the foundation, can hardly be doubted
by any one who is conversant with their ways. Finally, there would
appear to be no valid argument against the supposition that dogs form
generic ideas of sensible objects. One of the most curious peculiarities
of the dog mind is its inherent snobbishness, shown by the regard paid
to external respectability. The dog who barks furiously at a beggar will
let a well-dressed man pass him without opposition. Has he not then a
"generic idea" of rags and dirt associated with the idea of aversion,
and that of sleek broadcloth associated with the idea of liking?
In short, it seems hard to assign any good reason for denying to the
higher animals any mental state, or process, in which the employment of
the vocal or visual symbols of which language is composed is not
involved; and comparative psychology confirms the position in relation
to the rest of the animal world assigned to man by comparative anatomy.
As comparative anatomy is easily able to show that, physically, man is
but the last term of a long series of forms, which lead, by slow
gradations, from the highest mammal to the almost formless speck of
living protoplasm, which lies on the shadowy boundary between animal and
vegetable life; so, comparative psychology, though but a young science,
and far short of her elder sister's growth, points to the same
conclusion.
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