Comments on the paper "So little brain, so much mind. Intelligence and behavior of non human animals" by F. Cimatti and G. Vallortigara

Abstract

This comment on the paper by Cimatti and Vallortigara (2015) accepts the presence of core cognitive systems in both invertebrate and vertebrate species and then considers why larger brains evolved. After realizing that behaviour previously considered to be cognitively complex, and indicative of having a theory of mind, may be a core system and simpler than we think, it suggests that we need to investigate different patterns of behaviour, especially those that the species would use in its natural habitat. In order to reveal the advantages of having a larger brain, it suggests what some of these behaviour patterns may be. Finally, it raises an ethical problem arising from research on face recognition in insects: viz., military application of technology based on these findings.