Who do we think we are? - part 3 of 5
Logical Thinking
What sets humans apart from animals?
Transcript
One thing that is typically human is our capacity for LOGICAL THINKING. Or is it?
What does that mean: Logical Thinking? Is it knowing how to add 1+1? Animals can do that! I think it’s got something to do with this rhyme:
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
By: Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), British writer and poetIt’s about our ability to analyze: these are the six kinds of questions we ask to gather concrete information…
WHAT-questions are about practical information concerning an object or action outside ourselves. “What is this?”
WHERE-questions are about place and space and require spatial awareness. “Where is it?”
WHEN-questions require a sense of time, of passing of the seasons.
HOW-questions are about procedures and inner workings and require a degree of logic. “How does it work?”
WHO-questions are about identity and require a sense of self and self-reflection. “Who am I?”
WHY-questions are about meaning and purpose and require an understanding of causality and an inner yearning for wisdom. “Why am I?”
Me: “I don’t think animals ever ask themselves WHO or WHY, do they?”
Yiri: “Probably not.”
Me: “But then again: how can we be sure? How can you tell the presence or absence of such questions?”
(Cat, looking at itself: “WHO am I?”)
(A fly, buzzing towards a spider’s web: “WHY am I here?”)
(The spider: “What is the MEANING of all this?”)
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