In the Hearts of the Beasts : How American Behavioral Scientists Rediscovered the Emotions of Animals

Animals Cannot Use Words To Explain Whether They Feel Emotions, And Scientific Opinion On The Subject Has Been Divided. Charles Darwin Believed Animals And Humans Share A Common Core Of Fear, Anger, And Affection. Today Most Researchers Agree That Animals Experience Comfort Or Pain. Around 1900 In The United States, However, Where Intelligence Was The Dominant Interest In The Lab And Field, Animal Emotion Began As An Accidental Question. Organisms Ranging From Insects To Primates, Already Used To Test Learning, Displayed Appetites And Aversions That Pushed Psychologists And Biologists In New Scientific Directions. The Americans Were Committed Empiricists, And The Routine Of Devising Experiments, Observing, And Reflecting Permitted Them To Change Their Minds And Encouraged Them To Do So. By 1980, The Emotional Behavior Of Predatory Ants, Fearful Rats, Curious Raccoons, Resourceful Bats, And Shy Apes Was Part Of American Science. In This Open-ended Environment, The Scientists' Personal Lives--their Families, Trips Abroad, And Public Service--also Affected Their Professional Labor. The Americans Kept Up With The Latest Intellectual Trends In Genetics, Evolution, And Ethology, And They Sometimes Pioneered Them. But There Is A Bottom-up Story To Be Told About The Scientific Consequences Of Animals And Humans Brought Together In The Pursuit Of Knowledge. The History Of The American Science Of Animal Emotions Reveals The Ability Of Animals To Teach And Scientists To Learn. "Animals cannot use words to explain whether they feel emotions, and scientific opinion on the subject has been divided. Charles Darwin believed animals and humans share a common core of fear, anger, and affection. Today most researchers agree animals experience comfort or pain. In America around 1900, however, where animal intelligence was the dominant interest in the lab and field, animal emotions began as an accidental question. Organisms ranging from insects to primates, already used to test learning, displayed appetites and aversions that pushed psychologists and biologists in new directions. The Americans were committed empiricists, and the routine of devising experiments, observing, and reflecting permitted them to change their minds and encouraged them to do so. By 1980, the emotional behavior of predatory ants, fearful rats, curious raccoons, resourceful bats, and shy apes was part of American science. In this open-ended environment, the scientists' personal lives - their families, trips abroad, and public service -- also affected their professional labor. The Americans kept up with the latest intellectual trends in genetics, evolution, and ethology, and they sometimes pioneered them. But there is a bottom-up story to be told about the scientific consequences of animals and humans brought together in the pursuit of knowledge. The history of the American science of animal emotions reveals the ability of animals to teach and scientists to learn"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 In the Hearts of the Beasts 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Preface 12 Introduction: Surprising Glimpses into Animal Hearts 14 1. Conversations with the Animals 23 Life under the Microscope 24 Professional Observers 31 Random Feelings 37 2. Animal Appetites Unleashed: World War I 44 Out of the Cage 46 Pugnacity and Other Emotions 50 Why Do They Run? 56 3. The Family Passion 64 Copulation 65 The Family Business 71 Sexless Societies 77 4. The Rediscovery of Pain 84 Doing Harm and Detecting Pain 86 Traveling a Disordered World 91 In Praise of Nature 99 5. Animal Emotions in the Shadows: World War II 105 Genes and Organisms 108 Scientists at a Safe Distance 113 In the Kingdom of the Beasts 119 6. The Animal Mind Reinvented 126 The Animal Found 128 American Empiricism Forgotten 134 The Emotional Animal 140 Appendix 146 Notes 148 Bibliographic Notes 218 Index 222