Exploring the Soul of Elephants

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This chapter delves into the deep emotional and cognitive world of elephants, questioning whether they possess a soul. It discusses the implications of anthropomorphizing animals, the historical taboo against attributing inner mental states to them, and the shift towards acknowledging emotions in animals through neuroscience. The conversation also touches on the complexities of interpreting animal behaviors without considering their mental states and the importance of finding a balance in understanding animal emotions without overly anthropomorphizing.

David and Tamler talk about Caitrin Keiper’s wonderful sprawling essay on elephant life and society and the many philosophical questions surrounding these extraordinary creatures. What kind of mental states can we attribute to them? Do they have a kind of language? Are they moral? What are our moral duties to them? What accounts for the long-standing taboo against ‘anthropomorphizing’ elephants and other complex non-human animals? And lots more.

Plus, a new segment “there should be a German word for this” - we come up with new German words for common phenomena or experiences. And a big announcement in the promo segment about the podcast going forward.

Please consider supporting a long-time listener’s attempt to get their family out of Gaza.[gofundme.com]

Links:

Do Elephants Have Souls? by Caitrin Keiper [thenewatlantis.com]