> From: <CRAIG92@psy.soton.ac.uk>
> Date: Fri, 26 May 1995 11:15:16 GMT
>
> Kanzi, the bonobo which Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has extensively assessed,
> has a tendency to communicate to himself via the Lexigram system she
> invented. During these periods, if anyone approaches him, he simply
> stops and runs off. Therefore, is this self-communication the same as
> self-awareness?
It's not clear that anyone is in a position to know what Kanzi is doing
if he stops whenever he is observed, but supposing it was a computer
system he was using and we could eavesdrop. If his messages made sense,
that would indicate about the same thing as in our own case of thinking
out loud.
But, again, self is just one of the many things one can be aware of. If
the thinking out loud is about other things, then they do not
necessarily imply that Kanzi is self-aware. Autistic children verbalise
out loud too, yet there are those who doubt they have a theory of mind
-- their own or others'. Without endorsing that interpretation one can
see that performance of this sort does not guarantee anything.
Chrs, Stevan
mailto:harnad@soton.ac.uk
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