Reading Response 4

One of the common threads throughout this article that helped to unify the author's ideas is the discussion between animal instinct and intelligence. This makes sense because it addresses the thought processes of these animals as they construct their dwellings. They are thinking something when they construct them, but as to how they come about those thoughts is up for debate. The author gives a rather balanced selection of what each perspective has to say which kept me interested in the rest of the article's information.

A discussion point that also caught my eye was the issue of animal as designer or builder. The author brings up this discussion at the beginning of the article when he quotes Morgan as believing that the beaver dams were not absolutely necessary to the beaver's existence, that there is an aesthetic component attached to its functionality. In other words, the "animal has a fundamental awareness of its own creation." I had never really thought of this possibility of an animal having the intelligence and practices of an artist critiquing his work. I am aware of how some animal dwellings can be so intricate and fantastical in comparison to human constructions, but it came as a surprise to think of the animal actually evaluating the structure for something more than functionality. Maybe this is not quite the extent of what Morgan was referring to, but it is still a good point to ponder: the creativity of an animal and from where the creativity comes.