I did not say that animals could not solve problems and find creative solutions to problems.
Quoting Abdu'l-Baha I said: "only humans discover the realities of things and become cognizant of their peculiarities and effects, and of the qualities and properties of beings."
Other animals do not have the same mental capacities of humans. That is a scientific fact that was brought to the fore by Adbu'l-Baha.
2 Mental Abilities Separate Humans from Animals
Most animal species can be categorized as either specialists or generalists, but humans are both: we are capable of quickly adapting to local demands, even to anticipated demands, by acquiring relevant expertise. Moreover, through cooperation and division of labor, we can benefit from complementary skills, thereby enabling us to dominate most diverse habitats. We can keep even the fiercest predators in our zoos because we can foresee what they need and what they can and cannot do. So far there is no obvious evidence of other species engaging in such mental time travel nor in exchanging plots for a coordinated escape from the zoo when the conditions are right next summer.
With nested scenario building and the urge to wire their minds together, our ancestors eventually spawned civilizations and technologies that have changed the face of the earth. Science is the disciplined use of our collective wit, and we can deploy it to better understand the origin of our place in nature. We can further use it to model the future systematically and ever more clearly. By foreseeing the consequences of our actions, we are also confronted with moral choices between different options. We can predict the consequences of continuing pollution or destruction of animal habitats, inform others about them and, as the Paris climate agreement dramatically demonstrates, negotiate globally coordinated actions aimed at more desirable outcomes.
None of this is an excuse for arrogance. It is, in fact, a call for care. We are the only creatures on this planet with these abilities.
2 Mental Abilities Separate Humans from Animals
Do animals have the same mental capacity as humans?
"Animals share many of the building blocks that comprise human thought, but paradoxically,
there is a great cognitive gap between humans and animals," Hauser says. "By looking at key differences in cognitive abilities, we find the elements of human cognition that are uniquely human. Feb 17, 2008
Summary:
A Harvard scientist presents a new hypothesis on what defines the cognitive rift between humans and animals. He identifies four key differences in human thought that make it unique. Animals, for example, have "laser beam" intelligence, in which a specific solution is used to solve a specific problem. But these solutions cannot be applied to new situations or to solve different kinds of problem. In contrast, humans have "floodlight" cognition, allowing us to use thought processes in new ways and to apply the solution of one problem to another situation.
