animals in M&D

[Doug Millison]

Grigori the octopus in GR might represent an example of the kind of animal
conditioning Spencer referred to, conditioning in this instance used for
nefarious ends. Animals that exhibit human characteristics would seem to be
a recurring motif in TRP's writing -- another example that comes to mind is
in Vineland, those exotic birds that sit in the trees in Frenesi's
childhood street watching TV and singing along with the commercials, a
passage that makes me wonder, who are the parrots, the birds in the trees
or the couch potatoes in the living room.

There's a lively, ongoing discussion about what it means to attribute
intelligence to animals, what specialists and other human observers can in
fact know about animal consciousness, a discussion that quickly goes deep
into philosophy, ethics, and debates about the limits of scientific theory
and method.  A good starting point is a recent book, _Anthropomorphism,
Anecdotes, and Animals_, Robert W. Mitchell (and others) ed.

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