Great Apes Have Just Passed A Complex "Theory Of Mind" Test

[Judi Lynn]

What separates humans from “the beasts” of nature? One of the few standout features of human intelligence is often argued to be our ability to deeply understand the desires, knowledge, motives, and intents of others. Known as “theory of mind”, this ability allows us to understand and anticipate the thoughts of others, even when they are different or opposed to one’s own.

Many have pushed the idea that humans are the only creatures to possess this complex ability, however, a new study on our closest evolutionary cousins is now shaking this longheld assumption.

Reporting their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers from Kyoto University in Japan, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, and the University of St Andrews in Scotland has demonstrated that other members of the great ape family – including chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans – appear to possess “theory of mind.”

While this is not the first study to argue this, the new research builds on the team's previous work to provide some of the most convincing arguments yet.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/great-apes-have-just-passed-a-complex-theory-of-mind-test/