The Thinking Animal

THE REMARKABLE STORY OF HOW EVOLUTION BUILT MINDS – AND HOW OURS BECAME EXTRAORDINARY

‘I will never look at other animals’ minds, or my own, in quite the same way’
David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap

‘A great breakthrough in explaining why animals – and humans – behave the way they do’
Professor Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Brain

Why do dogs say hello but never goodbye?
What makes baby penguins think the first animal they see is their mother?
Why are bonobos impulsive while chimpanzees show restraint?
And what does all this tell us about how humans think?

In The Thinking Animal, Nichola Raihani explores one of science’s most enduring questions: Why do minds work the way they do? Drawing on the latest discoveries in psychology, neuroscience, and animal behaviour, Raihani shows how intelligence has evolved across the animal kingdom, and why ours became so distinctive.

From elephants keeping vigil over their dead to ants counting their steps and chickadees remembering where they stored thousands of seeds, Raihani reveals how animals make sense of the world – and why their ways of doing so can seem so strange to us. Along the way, she overturns some of our most enduring myths, showing that even familiar behaviours can be produced by radically different minds. The Thinking Animal presents a new understanding of intelligence – what we have in common with other species, and what truly sets us apart.
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PRAISE FOR THE THINKING ANIMAL:

‘The Thinking Animal is consistently fascinating and utterly absorbing. Every page contains an awe-inspiring insight. I will never look at other animals’ minds, or my own, in quite the same way’ David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap

‘This brilliant book will change how you think about animal minds, and your own. Melding the latest research on a huge range of animals with a skeptical eye and humour, Nichola Raihani has made a great breakthrough in explaining why animals – and humans – behave the way they do. Very highly recommended’ Professor Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Brain
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PRAISE FOR THE SOCIAL INSTINCT:

‘Surprising, thoughtful and endlessly entertaining’ WILL STORR

‘Phenomenally important… Nichola Raihani will change the way we think about ourselves’ LEWIS DARTNELL

‘A superb book about how important cooperation is’ ALICE ROBERTS

‘A pleasing juxtaposition of insightful scientific theory with illuminating anecdotes’ RICHARD DAWKINS