The Rational Animal

Whether animals can think rationally and whether they have consciousness is one of the most exciting and controversial questions in biology and comparative psychology. In this seminal book, internationally leading cognitive biologist Ludwig Huber takes stock of the current state of research on whether and how animals think. He shows what we know about the minds of animals today, how we gained this knowledge and how we can use it.

Numerous illustrations specially prepared for this book illustrate the experiments and observations that have revealed cognitive abilities such as using tools creatively, assuming perspectives, solve problems with insight or employing episodic memory in animals. Since humans require consciousness to activate these mental processes, they can also provide scientific evidence for the practical rationality of animals. With special appearances by: monkeys, dogs, bees, crows, keas, poison dart frogs, turtles, octopuses.

The new scientific findings demand a decisive revision of our irrational and ethically questionable attitudes towards animals and their instrumentalisation, whether as food or laboratory animals. Great changes are on the horizon.

»[Huber] presents surprising research on animal thinking: animals make decisions, use tools, plan for the future.« DIE ZEIT

»A rook learning to fetch food from a tube with a stick; monkeys cracking nuts with different tools; dolphins hesitating when they don’t recognise a sound correctly. Animals communicate, read minds and plan actions. They are – as countless experiments over the past decades have shown – far more intelligent than humans suspected for a long time. What’s more: they also act rationally, as Ludwig Huber describes. He brings us up to date with the latest research in cognitive biology and impressively proves that its results force us to treat animals differently, that is: rationally and ethically. His book is a culmination of both science and education.« Jury statement of the German Non-Fiction Prize 2022

»[The book] discusses fundamental philosophical questions about language and consciousness and [...] demonstrates experiments of behavioural psychology on animals. Patient readers can also learn a lot about methodology here.« Wolfgang Schnider, Der Tagesspiegel

»The book is an extremely helpful basis for further research on the evolution and function of cognitive performance. Not just experts like ethnologists, neurobiologists, anthropologists, psychologists, educators and animal welfare activists, but everyone interested in animals is going to profit from reading it.« Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau

»A fascinating journey through cognitive research.« Jamal Tuschick, TEXTLAND

»This book is an indispensable work for a better understanding of animals and their cognitive performance and therefore has all the makings of a standard work ...« Herbert Pardatscher, Bücherrundschau

»Demands a lot from our brain cells and awards us with valuable knowledge.« Martin Hubert, Deutschlandfunk