?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Animal+Consciousness+as+a+Test+Case+of+Cognitive+Science&rft.creator=Bremer%2C+Manuel&rft.subject=Applied+Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Ethology&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Comparative+Psychology&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Behavioral+Analysis&rft.subject=Animal+Behavior&rft.description=In+our+dealings+with+animals+at+least+most+of+us+see+them+as+conscious+beings.+On+the+other+hand+the+employment+of+human+categories+to+animals+seems+to+be+problematic.+Reflecting+on+the+details+of+human+beliefs%2C+for+example%2C+casts+serious+doubt+on+whether+the+cat+is+able+to+believe+anything+at+all.+These+theses+try+to+reflect+on+methodological+issues+when+investigating+animal+minds.+Developing+a+theory+of+animal+mentality+seems+to+be+a+test+case+of+the+interdisciplinary+research+programme+in+cognitive+science.+From+the+philosopher%60s+perspective+the+most+pressing+problem+is+how+to+talk+about+animal+minds.+Can+we+just+employ+the+vocabulary+of+human+psychology%3F+If+not%2C+exploring+animal+minds+contains+the+non-trivial+task+of+introducing+a+terminology+that+allows+to+see+the+distinctness+of+animal+minds+and+to+see+its+connection+to+the+human+case.+%0AThe+treatment+of+some+topic+in+cognitive+science+has+to+reach+a+reflective+equilibrium+between+our+intuitions%2C+a+phenomenological+approach%2C+philosophical+conceptual+analysis%2C+various+empirical+approaches+and+model+building.+Reflective+equilibrium+means+in+this+context+that+we+have+to+reach+a+coherent+model+which+incorporates+as+much+of+our+intuitions+concerning+animal+consciousness+and+integrates+at+the+same+time+the+findings+of+the+different+co-operating+sciences.+There+can+be+various+trade-offs+in+case+of+conflict+between%2C+say%2C+philosophical+definitions+of+mental+terms+as+to+be+applied+to+animals%2C+neurophysiology%2C+our+reflected+intuitions+and+ethological+model+building+based+on+a+computational+theory+of+animal+minds.+%0AThe+paper+gives+an+example+of+reflective+equilibrium+in+discussing+the+case+for+awareness+in+vertebrates.+It+considers+the+role+of+evolutionary+reasoning.+The+main+focus+lays+on+two+examples+of+comparing+our+human+notions+(chosen+here+are+%E2%80%9Chaving+concepts%E2%80%9D+and+%E2%80%9Cbelief%E2%80%9D)+with+corresponding+abilities+in+animals%2C+and+how+an+appropriate+conceptual+apparatus+dealing+with+the+abilities+of+animals+could+be+introduced.%0A&rft.date=2002&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2971%2F1%2FACinCS.pdf&rft.identifier=++Bremer%2C+Manuel++(2002)+Animal+Consciousness+as+a+Test+Case+of+Cognitive+Science.++%5BConference+Paper%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2971%2F