Comment on We wouldn't listen, anyway.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 23 hours agoNone of them have ever exhibited the ability of abstraction.
First of all, isn’t science always testing and studying? Why and how can you make that statement so confidently? You don’t know this for sure.
Second, couldn’t this just be bias on your part? I’ve had dogs that could speak our language the best they could. Granted, these were very smart dogs, so they might have been outliers. But your dogs could have been dumb as rocks too.
Third, you’re like that archaeology meme with the obsidian in the rafters. It might just be you.
LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 hours ago
Sorry you lost me with the archeology memes, ill take your word for it lol.
I said exhibited, that already implies that I dont know for certain. I am saying that there has never been any evidence provided to me that my pets, or anyone else’s pets, have ever communicated using structured abstract language to communicate. I think believing that animals have a secret ability to communicate in non-symbolic ways is basically a conspiracy theory. There is nuance to what we would define as symbolic and what we would define as structured abstract language, but overall I think this holds true even with very generous definitions for those terms.
Communication through posturing, facial expressions, basic vocalizations, pheromones, can all be used to communicate some ideas that are complex in some ways. You can communicate to someone who knows you very well just be showing them a subtle facial expression that they know you well enough to pick up on. We are especially good at communicating emotions this way. I dont think that anyone would argue those modes of communication are as robust as, say, English. How would we have this conversation through purely posturing, facial expressions, vocalizations and pheromones? Can we convey these abstract ideas through those things that are unstructured and based on what is essentially our ability to pattern much external stimuli? Can you present my arguments to your dog? Can you show that your dog can be made to understand the arguments I am making about language?
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 21 hours ago
If you compare a 2 year old and a really smart dog, they’re about the same in their reasoning skills. So yeah, I’ve had arguments with 2 year olds and dogs.
Again, you’re saying you personally haven’t had those experiences, so you might be an outlier.
LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 hours ago
Your first statement is entirely unrelated to the discussion at hand, so I dont even really know why you said it.
I’m saying I’ve never even heard of it. I would love to see a qualitative analysis of ‘arguments’ with dogs. I have never seen any evidence whatsoever that anything even approaching actual language comprehension is happening. Understanding some words and sentences is not the same thing as language comprehension. Do they understand the meaning of the terms? Can they infer new things if terms have been rearranged? Do they understand the structure of language? No. They definitely cannot. They are capable of pattern matching human vocalizations though, especially as they relate to themselves and things in their immediate environment. Thats not the same thing as language. I’m very sorry if you do not understand the nuance between those 2 things, or if you genuinely believe any of your pets could speak English. Theres nothing I or anyone else can say to convince you otherwise if youve already decided that your subjective emotional experience with your animals leads you to believe they have English language speaking skills.
Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
When I crate my dog she will sometimes run away and hide. Her position is that she doesn’t want to go in the crate and my position is that I want her to go in the crate. Other times she agrees and just goes in the crate. This is an example of what an argument with a dog can look like.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 19 hours ago
I really hope you’re not a working scientist.