Anthropomorphization as a method of working with indirect data
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15633/lie.31105Keywords:
anthropomorphism, behavior, analogy, animal, paleobiologyAbstract
In ethology, anthropomorphization – the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to animals – is often criticized as unscientific. However, this approach seeks to reveal analogies between different species, a practice that finds parallels in paleobiology through the use of phylogenetic bracketing and the search for analogies among extant species. Both disciplines share a reliance on indirect data, though the reasons for this limitation differ. This article compares selected paleobiological methods to anthropomorphization, arguing that the latter should be recognized and validated as a legitimate scientific method.
References
Agassi J., Anthropomorphism in science, in: Dictionary of the history of ideas: studies of selected pivotal ideas, ed. P. P. Wiener, New York 1973, pp. 87–91.
Andrews K., Beyond anthropomorphism: attributing psychological properties to animals, in: Oxford handbook of animal ethics, eds. T. L. Beauchamp, R. G. Frey, Oxford 2011, pp. 469–494, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195371963.013.0017.
Barrett P. M., Rayfield E. J., Ecological and evolutionary implications of dinosaur feeding behaviour, “Trends in Ecology & Evolution” 21 (2006) no. 4, pp. 217–224, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2006.01.002.
Bekoff M., The emotional lives of animals: a leading scientist explores animal joy, sorrow, and empathy — and why they matter, New World Library, 2010.
Brusatte S., Dinosaur paleobiology, Chichester–Hoboken, NJ 2012, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118274071.
Burghardt G., Cognitive ethology and critical anthropomorphism: a snake with two heads and hognose snakes that play dead, in: Cognitive ethology: The minds of other animals. Essays in honor of Donald R. Griffin, ed. by C. A. Ristau, New York–London 1991, pp. 53–90.
De Renzi M., Some philosophical questions about paleontology and their practical consequences, “Acta Geológica Hispánica” 16 (1981) Núm. 1–2, pp. 7–23.
Eckstein M. K., Guerra-Carrillo B., Miller Singley A. T., Bunge S. A., Beyond eye gaze: what else can eyetracking reveal about cognition and cognitive development?, “Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience” 25 (2017), pp. 69–91, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2016.11.001.
Helton W. S., Cephalic index and perceived dog trainability, “Behavioural Processes” 82 (2009) no. 3, pp. 355–358, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2009.08.004
Morgan C. L., An introduction to comparative psychology, New ed., rev, London 1903, https://doi.org/10.1037/13701-000.
Norell M. A., Clark J. M., Chiappe L. M., Dashzeveg D., A nesting dinosaur, “Nature” 378 (1995) no. 6559, pp. 774–776, https://doi.org/10.1038/378774a0.
Waal F. B. de, Anthropomorphism and anthropodenial: consistency in our thinking about humans and other animals, “Philosophical Topics” 27 (1999) no. 1, pp. 255–280, https://doi.org/10.5840/philtopics199927122.
Waal F. B. de, Are we in anthropodenial, “Discover” 18 (1997) no. 7, pp. 50–53.
Witmer L. M., The Extant Phylogenetic Bracket and the importance of reconstructing soft tissues in fossils, in: Functional morphology in vertebrate paleontology, ed. J. Thomason, Cambridge 1995, pp. 19–33.
Wynne C. D., What are animals? Why anthropomorphism is still not a scientific approach to behavior, “Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews” 2 (2007), pp. 125–135, https://doi.org/10.3819/ccbr.2008.20008.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Bartosz Frydrychowski
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights without restrictions, and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
