The Discovery of Animal Behavior: In Praise of God

Nature

5th December 1982 53 mins Season 1 Episode 9

Theologians and clerics in the 17th and 18th centuries were among the first to study animal behavior. John Ray began in the 1600's to catalog "the work of the Creation," starting with plants and later including birds. Sir Francis Willoughby continued this work. Rev. Gilbert White studied bird songs, Charlie LeRoy experimented with wolves and deer, and Charles Waterton wrote about jungle animals.

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Season 1 · Episode 10

The Discovery of Animal Behavior: Search for the Mind

In 1848, Charles Darwin began the quest to understand the mysteries of the animal mind. Following Darwin's achievement - suggesting a plausible process for evolution: natural selection - Lewis Henry Morgan discovered evidence of cogitation in beavers. George Romanes experimented with fish, cats, and dogs, Douglas Spalding with newborn chicks, all finding apparent mental activity. Meanwhile Jacques Loeb attempted to prove animals "mindless."

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