“Despite Darwin’s strides in discussing intelligence in terms of function rather than form, science’s view of animal intelligence remains largely Cartesian, in that non-human animals are still perceived as intellectually and emotionally distinct from humans,” Professor Nelson says.
“Great strides have been made regarding animal intelligence in the last few decades, yet intelligence goes beyond the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. In this talk, I will be discussing the progress made in tackling the challenging issue of animal emotions, and the ethical ramifications that this raises: as a society, what do we do if we find that other animals feel as do humans?”
Tauhere UC Connect public talk: Joyful nature – the ethics of animal emotions, Presented by Professor Ximena Nelson, UC Science, 7pm – 8pm, Wednesday 12 October 2022, in C1, Central lecture theatre, University of Canterbury’s Ilam campus, Christchurch. Register to attend free at: www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect. Tauhere UC Connect public talks are also livestreamed on the UC Facebook page.
