The meaning of rationality- Part III
Current research is generating evidence of surprising abilities in animals, not merely in the traditionally favoured higher primates but in monkeys, cetaceans and some species of birds.
RATIONALITY IS also understood in terms of the fulfillment of the following axioms:- Completeness: If A and B are any two situations/options, the economic agent always specifies one of these decisions: he either prefers A to B, or B to A, or he prefers both equally (i.e. he is indifferent between them). This axiom eliminates the possibility of lack of decision.
Current research is generating evidence of surprising abilities in animals, not merely in the traditionally favoured higher primates but in monkeys, cetaceans, and some species of birds. Yet it remains unclear how these results should affect our view of animal rationality as a primary feature in the conceptual landscape they work in, and philosophical opinion is itself divided on whether fruitful questions about the rationality of animal minds can be framed. There is a relation between rationality and pretence in animals. Behaviour that seems to be genuine pretence is behaviour that suggests a capacity for decentring may be considered a mark of rationality.
- Monkeys: Scientists at Harvard University have shown, for the first time, that intelligence varies among individual monkeys within a species – in this case, the cotton-top tamarin. This study was conducted among 22 cotton-top tamarins, who were administered 11 unique tasks designed to assess different cognitive functions including working memory, executive control, information processing speed, and inhibitory control. For some tasks, the monkeys' goal was to obtain a piece of food, but this was not the case for all of the tasks. Monkeys with higher "g" (General intelligence, or "g," refers to the positive correlation of an individual's performance on various subtasks within an intelligence test) scores tended to outperform monkeys with lower scores across the various subtasks in the cognitive task battery.
- Honeybees: Contrary to the theory of rational choice, adding an alternative to a set of available options often affects people's judgment of the preexisting options. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) and gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis) are also influenced by the addition of an option to a choice set (i.e., by a change in local context). Like humans, Honeybees (Apis mellifera) and gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis) violate basic properties of rational choice. Their relative preference between two original options change with the introduction of a third, relatively unattractive option. Such context-dependent choice violates the constant-ratio rule.
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