EP #12 | Understanding Animal Minds | Jacob Beck

EP #12 | Understanding Animal Minds | Jacob Beck

From Cognitations by Jay Richardson and Tanay Katiyar

January 31, 2025 · 1h 4m · Season 2 · Episode 12

About this episode

The episode explores the complex psychological relationship between humans and non-human animals, featuring insights from philosopher Jacob Beck.

The relationship we sustain with non-human animals is rich and complex. We take care of them, we exploit them, we eat them, and we tell stories about them. The psychological dimensions of this multifaceted relationship are usually taken for granted, but it’s puzzling when you think about it. We don’t bat an eye upon hearing of seductive snakes, gentle, honey loving bears or mystery solving, criminal catching dogs. And yet, when pushed, many of us will readily admit that animals don’t have exactly the same psychological traits and tendencies as humans. How can this be? When we personify animals, are we grasping something real or is it all fiction? How can scientists study the minds of animals? What are the consequences of all of this? Jacob Beck is Research Chair in the Philosophy of Visual Perception in the Department of Philosophy at York University in Toronto. He carried out his doctoral studies at Harvard before a post-doc at Washington University in St Louis and a teaching job at Texas Tech. He has written terrific articles on pre-linguistic forms of representation, and co-edited the Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds with Kristin Andrews. Links to Jacob's…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jay Richardson, Tanay Katiyar

Guest: Jacob Beck

Topics covered

  • animal psychology
  • human-animal relationship
  • philosophy of mind
  • perception
  • animal representation

Keywords

  • animal minds
  • psychology
  • philosophy
  • perception
  • representation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: York University, Harvard, Washington University in St Louis, Texas Tech

Books & works: Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds, Can We Really Know What Animals Are Thinking?

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