Ever heard the saying "animals can't think rationally"? I think even scripture itself suggests the opposite. When Balaam beat his donkey for disobedience in not staying on the road and God gave him the ability to speak and respond, the exchange went like this:
"What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have ever ridden to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
What the exchange demonstrates is that the donkey considered Balaam's thinking illogical. It in effect says, "Why would I do this if there were not a reason?" In fact, his determination to get out of the road even at the expense of incurring the wrath of his master demonstrates a calculated decision. He had come to the conclusion that - regardless of what was going on with the dummy riding him - it was a smarter move to get out of the road than get both their heads lopped of by an angel standing there in front of them.
While I don't believe animals are as well-developed mentally as adult humans are, they appear to be similar in their capacities to small children in may ways. The problem is that they are usually not encouraged to use their minds, and like small children, when this is the case most of them usually won't. It is therefore a wonderful thing to see how advanced their thinking is when humans encourage it and actually give them a chance to demonstrate it.
The following is for posting videos and articles on the intellectual capabilities of animals. If anyone has anything they'd like to add, please feel free.
- H
"What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have ever ridden to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
What the exchange demonstrates is that the donkey considered Balaam's thinking illogical. It in effect says, "Why would I do this if there were not a reason?" In fact, his determination to get out of the road even at the expense of incurring the wrath of his master demonstrates a calculated decision. He had come to the conclusion that - regardless of what was going on with the dummy riding him - it was a smarter move to get out of the road than get both their heads lopped of by an angel standing there in front of them.
While I don't believe animals are as well-developed mentally as adult humans are, they appear to be similar in their capacities to small children in may ways. The problem is that they are usually not encouraged to use their minds, and like small children, when this is the case most of them usually won't. It is therefore a wonderful thing to see how advanced their thinking is when humans encourage it and actually give them a chance to demonstrate it.
The following is for posting videos and articles on the intellectual capabilities of animals. If anyone has anything they'd like to add, please feel free.
- H
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