If a Lion Could Talk: How Animals Think by Stephen Budiansky - Dec 1998

Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Dec 1998. Hardcover. If a lion could talk", is a quote from the famous philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and continues "we would not understand him" for the lion has its own language, thoughts and agenda, which suit it well enough. And this is the underlying message of American science writer Stephen Budiansky's fascinating book. Our relationship with other animals has probably always been deeply ambivalent since the days when we were both the hunter and the hunted. Domestication has further complicated the issue for us, no more so than in these days of embattled debate about animal rights. \n According to Budiansky, our anthropomorphic "tendency to view an animal's actions in terms of our own conscious intentions, thoughts, and motives, is viewed by many as an act of generosity...and humility". The ultimate compliment to an animal seems to be "you're almost human" but as Budiansky points out a more honest evaluation would be that anthropomorphism "betrays an utter lack of imagination on our part". Indeed we seem to suffer from "compulsive anthropomorphism". \n For many this may seem like "fighting talk" but Budiansky's approach is deeply empathic to the other animals and not unsympathetic to our human desire to somehow relate to the animals, even if it often deeply misguided. He takes an evolutionary approach to the problem of understanding animal intelligence and communication. Building on his previous bestsellers "The Covenant of the Wild" (shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc Science Prize in 1995) and the more recent "The Nature of Horses", Budiansky manages to bring the wealth of research that is normally buried in the academic literature into the public domain. An index, notes and bibliography will help those who wish to follow up this intriguing subject. \n Whatever your feelings about animals, as Budiansky says they are all "remarkable in their own right" and much like humans, have all "hit upon unique ways to make a living against all probability". And that truly is "something to respect, and to treasure". --"Douglas Palmer