The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds

While philosophers have been interested in animals since ancient times in the last few decades the subject of animal minds has emerged as a major topic in philosophy. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds is an outstanding reference source to the key topics problems and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising nearly fifty chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into eight parts:Mental representationReasoning and metacognitionConsciousness MindreadingCommunicationSocial cognition and cultureAssociation simplicity and modelingEthics.Within these sections central issues debates and problems are examined including: whether and how animals represent and reason about the world; how animal cognition differs from human cognition; whether animals are conscious; whether animals represent their own mental states or those of others; how animals communicate; the extent to which animals have cultures; how to choose among competing models and explanations of animal behavior; and whether animals are moral agents and/or moral patients. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of mind philosophy of psychology ethics and related disciplines such as ethology biology psychology linguistics and anthropology.