Ethology and philosophy: a possible heuristic intersection

Abstract

The possible presence of ethical behavior in other animals, together with the possession of characteristics such as self-awareness, empathy, theory of mind, or a sense of justice, provide an ideal meeting ground between ethologists and philosophers, in which books and articles have already been produced to arouse the interest not only of scholars, but also of the general public. The main data collected so far through observations of the behavior of animals (especially anthropomorphic monkeys) in nature or in captivity, or through controlled experiments carried out in captivity conditions, concerning the possible presence of some form of ethical sense are presented here.