XII 



THE INTERPRETATION OF THE 

 ACTIONS OF ANIMALS 



THE proper interpretation of the actions of 

 animals is one of the greatest of the diffi- 

 culties which confront the naturahst. We 

 all know how liable a man's actions are to 

 be misinterpreted by his fellow-men, whose thoughts 

 and feelings are similar to his. How much more must 

 we be hable to put false constructions on the acts of 

 those creatures whose thoughts are not our thoughts 

 and whose feelings are not our feelings ? The natural 

 tendency is, of course, to assign human attributes to 

 animals, to put anthropomorphic interpretations on 

 their actions, to endow dumb creatures with mental 

 concepts like those of man — in short, to credit them 

 with reasoning powers similar to those enjoyed by 

 human beings. That this is incorrect is the opinion of 

 all who have made a study of the question, and yet 

 even such seem unable completely to divest themselves 

 of the tendency to regard animals as rather simple 

 human folk. I do not wish to speak dogmatically upon 

 this most difficult subject. Let it suffice that it is my 

 belief that animals do not possess the mental powers 



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